All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 47
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Smile for the camera because Big Brother is watching you
We are all film stars now, according to a 1999 study that estimated London citizens or workers could expect, in a single day, to be filmed by more than 300 CCTV cameras on around 30 separate CCTV systems.
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Ex-lawyer campaigns for civil liberties in China
A man wrongfully detained in a Chinese mental hospital for six and a half years was released earlier this month following pressure from a commercial lawyer turned civil liberties activist. Former commercial lawyer Alice XT Huang, who visited London as a guest of the Law Society ...
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FSA fines anti-money laundering officer £14k
The Financial Services Authority has imposed a £14,000 penalty on an individual money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), in a case that is likely to raise concerns among those fulfilling the role at law firms.
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The four-year prison term that became a life sentence
The hanging’s-too-good-for-them school of thought on penal reform will probably be unsympathetic, but a recent case shines a spotlight on how inadequate medical care in prison can lead to jail sentences that never end.
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Asian lawyers recognised in awards
The Society of Asian Lawyers (SAL) has announced the winners of its annual awards to recognise the exceptional achievements of Asian solicitors and barristers practising in the UK. The award winners were: Young lawyer ...
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Mexican civil rights lawyer pleads for international support network
A Mexican civil rights lawyer who has received death threats in her own country visited the UK last week to persuade law firms and the Law Society to form an international support network for lawyers. Alba Cruz (pictured), from Oaxaca state, is representing 104 political dissidents, ...
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Town hall budget cut fears over local government legal services
Local government legal services will be ‘severely at risk of implosion’ if public sector budget cuts force a decline in professional standards, the new chairman of the Solicitors in Local Government group has warned. Stephen Turner, a solicitor at Kingston-upon-Hull City Council, said maintaining services and ...
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Eversheds to fight employment tribunal bias ruling
National firm Eversheds last week lodged an appeal against an Employment Tribunal ruling that it must pay £123,300 in compensation to a male associate who suffered sexual discrimination during the firm’s 2009 redundancy programme. The tribunal found that former real estate associate John de Belin was ...
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The plight of human rights lawyers in Mexico
If you think the UK legal profession is in crisis, then consider the lot of Mexican human rights lawyer, Alba Cruz, who has received death threats and whose mother and family have been caught up in the crossfire – and that’s just for starters.
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Chancery Lane condemns criticism of Chinese human rights lawyers
Two Chinese human rights lawyers face losing their licences to practise law following ‘absurd’ accusations by Beijing Municipal Judicial Bureau that they had behaved illegally in court. Chinese human rights lawyers Tang Jitian and Liu Wei, who represented a follower of the Falun Gong movement in ...
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Law Society survey reveals BME insurance divide
Law Society research into last year’s professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewal process has revealed a growing divide in the market, with ethnic minority firms encountering greater problems than most of the rest of the profession. The Society said it would ‘explore urgently’ the reasons behind the ...
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Employment Appeal Tribunal: ‘Job applications must be genuine’
A litigant who brought age discrimination claims against 20 recruitment agencies has lost an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) on the grounds that she had no genuine interest in the vacancies for which she had applied. The EAT said the judgment could serve as ...
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Why are councils and unions cross with a certain lawyer?
There is a long tradition of lawyers being unpopular. Take the jokes: What’s the difference between a catfish and a lawyer? One is a slimy, bottom-feeding, slippery creature and the other is just a fish. Or what’s the difference between a dead rat on the road and a dead lawyer? ...
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Research shows fall in in-house salaries
In-house lawyers in the north-east have seen a drop in salaries over the past year, research has shown. A survey of 100 in-house lawyers by legal recruiters BCL Legal found that senior lawyers in Yorkshire and the north-east have seen salaries drop an average of £10,000 ...
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Law Society unveils new online resource with details of CPD courses
The Law Society has launched a new online resource with details of hundreds of CPD courses from leading suppliers, and a free CPD planning and recording tool. The new CPD Centre, which aims to be the portal of choice for all CPD requirements, takes solicitors through ...
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Pro rata practising certificate plea for part-timers
Solicitors who work part-time should pay a reduced, prorated practising certificate fee, the Association of Women Solicitors has said. Under the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s proposals for reform of the way the practising certificate is charged, a flat fee of around £510 will be payable per individual ...
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Employment Appeal Tribunal issues TUPE judgment on contract wins
The first case to reach the Employment Appeal Tribunal concerning a dispute between two law firms over the employment law implications of winning a client contract from another firm has provided ‘much-needed clarification’ on the issue, experts have said. The EAT upheld an earlier tribunal decision ...
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A furore over the sex offenders register
An 11-year-old boy who raped a six-year-old girl should have been given the death penalty. Or perhaps just branded with a hot iron and put on the sex offenders register for life.
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Judicial mediation in Employment Tribunal cases falls short
Mediation provided by judges in Employment Tribunal cases has failed to achieve the anticipated time and cost savings over unmediated cases, the results of a pilot scheme have revealed. The Ministry of Justice piloted a judicial mediation service for Employment Tribunal discrimination cases which started between ...
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Immigration rules ‘poisoned chalice’, warn lawyers
The government’s decision to add a new ‘highly trusted sponsor’ category to the points-based immigration system is a possible ‘poisoned chalice’ for education providers, immigration lawyers have warned. Educational institutions, such as language schools, can qualify for the new sponsor category, which came into force on ...