All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 46
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News
The Council of Europe costs one euro a year – and it’s worth every cent
Heard the one about the Council of Europe? It’s worse than a bureaucracy – it’s a Eurocracy. Boom-boom! I’ve just got back from the Council of Europe (CoE) – I was reporting on the parliamentary assembly last week in Strasbourg – and, despite the almost universal cynicism typified by the ...
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Court of Protection failing to meet targets, report reveals
The court that makes decisions on behalf of people lacking mental capacity has suffered ‘more than its fair share of setbacks’ and is still achieving only one of its six targets, over 30 months after its creation, a report revealed last week. The first report into ...
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Conveyancers 'vulnerable' as mortgage fraud continues to rise
Conveyancing solicitors are ‘uniquely vulnerable’ to exploitation by criminals laundering money, a leading anti-money laundering solicitor has warned. The warning came as the latest figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority showed that cases of mortgage fraud continue to rise. Peter Rodd, ...
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EAT upholds victimisation claim
A firm that ‘gratuitously’ mentioned a solicitor’s previous discrimination claim against it when providing an employment reference to another firm has lost an appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Pothecary Witham Weld (PWW) lost the appeal in a case that has established that the reverse burden ...
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Law firms and investors showing 'little appetite' for external funding
Lifting restrictions on external investment in law firms will not lead to a ‘big bang’ for the legal profession, ‘just a big whimper’, a leading private equity investor has predicted. His comments came as the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the new government is ‘fully ...
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Lawyer wins tribunal appeal over withdrawal of job offer
A woman lawyer has won her appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that disability discrimination did not lie behind a major law firm’s decision to withdraw a job offer.
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It’s time to go public about privacy
The privacy genie is out of the bottle. The Facebook generation, brought up on sharing even the most intimate details online, has no concept of confidentiality or need-to-know.
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Personal injury firms hit face new VAT threat
Changes by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to the treatment of medical reports for VAT purposes could cause personal injury firms ‘significant’ extra expense, tax lawyers have warned. The changes have prompted the Law Society to make written submissions in a forthcoming VAT tribunal case, Barratt ...
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Sentencing Council begins national judicial survey
A new body with a remit to ‘demystify’ court processes and sentencing has begun the first national survey of how individual judges decide on the punishments they mete out to offenders. The Sentencing Council is to require judges to complete a questionnaire after each hearing ...
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A victory for lawyers
The bells are ringing, the trumpets are sounding, the medals are being awarded: a great victory has been achieved. This week, the European Commission finally agreed to establish the equivalent of a European justice ministry, a DG (Directorate General) Justice.
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OFT approves 'toothless' will-writing code
A new code of practice for non-lawyer will-writers which has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading is ‘without teeth’, probate solicitors have warned. The OFT approved a new code of practice drawn up by the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) last week. ...
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An eminent jurist is under attack over Israel
Israel has faced international condemnation this week over the alleged killing of 10 or more peace activists who were trying to deliver aid to Gaza by way of a flotilla of ships.
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SRA drafts rulebook for new regulation regime
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued a first draft of the 10 new principles which will form the basis of a new ‘outcomes-focused regulation’ regime. The broad principles are contained in a simplified handbook published for consultation by the SRA last week. ...
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European Commission to split justice department in two
The European Commission (EC) is set to transform the way justice is administered across member states, it has emerged.
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BME solicitors and Chancery Lane devise plan to halt PII discrimination
The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Forum of solicitors has put into action a ‘five-step plan’ together with the Law Society, which is designed to protect BME lawyers from discrimination when renewing their professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover. Law Society head of equality and diversity Pat ...
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In-house salaries fall for newly qualifieds
Average salaries for newly qualified in-house lawyers in the north-west of England fell from £40,000 to £37,000 last year, a new survey by Manchester recruitment consultancy BCL Legal has revealed. More experienced in-house lawyers, however, saw their pay remain unchanged at £43,000-£60,000 for one to ...
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Law Society launches privacy rights initiative
The Law Society has joined forces with surveillance watchdog Privacy International to found a privacy rights centre to provide pro bono legal help to victims of ‘oppressive surveillance’ technologies. The centre will coordinate pro bono privacy advice, advocacy and legal action to uphold individuals’ rights. It ...
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UK lawyers raise questions over EU e-justice system
UK lawyers have questioned moves by the umbrella body for Europe’s lawyers to support a common e-justice system spanning the EU. At its meeting in Malaga last week, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) narrowly won support for its plan to assist ...
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Judicial training drive seeks to foster clarity on citizens’ rights
A Europe-wide judicial training programme to establish a common set of procedural rules and citizens’ rights before the law began this week, as it emerged that there are more than 6,000 violations of judicial procedures currently due to be heard by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. ...
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Government to scrap ID cards
Identity cards for British citizens are to be scrapped within 100 days, the Home Office announced today. The National Identity Register, the database containing the biographic and biometric fingerprint data of cardholders, is also to be destroyed.