All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 55
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No rights without responsibilities?
The government says it wants to take its proposed bill of rights and responsibilities to the country for debate. This administration has a less than exemplary record of listening to people who respond to its public consultations, but for the moment we must take ministers at their word.
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Youth custody review cuts imprisonment by 42%
A pilot scheme to review youth imprisonment cases has cut the number of custodial sentences by 42%, a study revealed this week. In a joint report on custody panels, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Local Government Association said the number of young people ...
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Personal injury fraudster found guilty of contempt
In a landmark move against fraudulent personal injury claims, the High Court has found a claimant in contempt of court for exaggerating her injuries. She must now pay her own £125,000 legal bill, a £2,500 fine for contempt and half the defendant’s legal costs.
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New rights for people trafficking victims in force in UK
Immigration lawyers have a new weapon in their armoury following the implementation of a European agreement to stamp out people trafficking.
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Fraud claims reach record level, says ABI
Fraudulent insurance claims reached record levels in 2008, with dishonest claims totalling £14m exposed each week, the Association of British Insurers has revealed. ABI figures for 2008 released today (16 April) record 107,200 fraudulent insurance claims – more than 2,000 claims a week. The figures represent ...
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Scotland must try harder after report on trafficking
Scotland lags behind the rest of the UK in the fight against people trafficking. That is, at least, what a Scottish government report published earlier this month says.
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LPA registration fee slashed
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) can now be registered for just £120, the Ministry of Justice announced today. LPAs give people the power to plan ahead to when they are unable to make decisions for themselves, typically by appointing a relative or friend to take responsibility ...
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Personal injury lawyers blame NHS for rise in clinical negligence costs
Clinical negligence lawyers billing the NHS £130m a year have rejected a claim that their fees are ‘indefensibly expensive’ by blaming rising costs on the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) and its panel solicitors. The NHSLA, in its submission to Lord Justice Jackson’s review of ...
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UK has more lifers than rest of Europe combined
England and Wales sentence more prisoners to life than all 46 other Council of Europe member states combined, according to the Howard League for Penal Reform. Figures released this week show that 12,090 men, women and children in England and Wales are serving life sentences, ...
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Biggest ever survey of women solicitors
The biggest ever survey of women’s status and role within the profession may contradict recent suggestions that the recession is having less impact on female workers than on men, the new chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) said last week.
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[April spoof] Bankers to be fast-tracked into law
[1 April 2009 spoof story] city law firms have welcomed government plans to fast-track redundant investment bankers into the solicitors’ profession. Under what the Ministry of Justice is calling ‘Fast Track to Success’, former bankers are to undergo a month’s intensive legal tuition before sitting examinations ...
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Abbey strikes thousands from conveyancing panel
Hundreds of solicitors across England and Wales reacted with shock and dismay last week after mortgage provider Abbey halved the size of its panel for residential conveyancing. Some 6,050 law firm offices have been removed from the 12,000-strong panel as part of a rationalisation ...
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China – a dilemma
China admits to having executed 1,718 of its citizens in 2008, according to a report just published by Amnesty International. That’s 72% of the 2,390 executions recorded worldwide.
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Lawyers' long march triumphs in Pakistan
Pakistan’s lawyer-led long march demanding the reinstatement of former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry withstood baton charges, tear gas attacks and mass arrests, a British solicitor told the Gazette from Lahore. Razi Shah, a partner at Berkshire firm Appleby Shaw and a Law Society council member, said ...
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Law firm staff win landmark TUPE claim
Firms winning legal service contracts from competitors could face a ‘landslide’ of six-figure claims for unfair dismissal if they do not take on staff on reasonable terms along with the contract, the winner of a landmark employment tribunal case said this week. In the case, Liverpool ...
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Murder conviction quashed after 27 years
A man who has spent the last 27 years in prison had his conviction for rape and murder quashed by the Court of Appeal today (18 March). Sean Hodgson, now 57, was given a life sentence in 1982 for the murder of barmaid Teresa de Simone, ...
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LPAs to become cheaper following overhaul
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) forms are to be overhauled to make them simpler to complete and cheaper to register, Public Guardian Martin John said today (11 March). The overhaul follows a public consultation on key aspects of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Forms will now ...
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Alarm at Jobcentre Plus advertisement rule
Law firms and other employers sponsoring recruits from outside the European Economic Area have condemned as ‘political’ the UK Border Agency’s (UKBA) ruling that all vacancies should be advertised in Jobcentre Plus.
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Employment tribunal ruling challenges ageism
The first tribunal hearing to deal ‘head on’ with bars to employment based on date of birth has ruled that the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) acted unlawfully in rejecting candidates over 35.
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Deaf student launches discrimination action against law school
A deaf would-be law student has begun proceedings against a London law school, alleging disability discrimination on the grounds of ‘unfavourable treatment’ and failure to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.