All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 57
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News
Bias ruling paves way for more claims by carers
A law firm has become the first employer to face a claim for ‘discrimination by association’ after a tribunal ruled a former employee could bring a claim on the grounds of her child’s disability. Sharon Coleman alleges disability discrimination against her former employer, London law firm ...
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£75k payout in email claim
A Midlands law firm has paid a £75,000 out-of-court settlement to a Muslim former employee who claimed she had suffered harassment and religious discrimination from a partner and board member. Shakespeare Putsman has apologised to Saleca Faisal-Parkar for two emails describing the paralegal as a ‘tent ...
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Lawyers slam tribunal scam
Lawyers have demanded that the Tribunals Service ‘join the 21st century’ before scammers overwhelm courts with multiple age-discrimination claims. The scam targets job advertisements containing ageist phrases like ‘newly qualified’. The scammers apply for all such jobs and, if not offered the posts, threaten to take ...
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Fears over UKBA immigration shake-up
Concerns are mounting in the legal profession over new immigration rules described by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) as the biggest shake-up of border security in 45 years. Tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based system, which go live today, require 20,000 employers to have ...
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Vulnerable face discrimination
Vulnerable offenders suffer ‘systemic and routine discrimination’ at the hands of the police, court and prison services, according to a damning report.
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'Bypass solicitor and go straight to the bar'
Consumers will be urged to bypass solicitors and instruct barristers directly in an initiative launched by the Bar Council today. A report entitled ‘Straight there, no detours’, says that 89% of consumers who went directly to a barrister believed they got ‘better value for money’ ...
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Outcry at lawyer ban
Former Lord Justice Sir Henry Brooke and other legal figures have expressed outrage at the UK’s decision to refuse entry to a Nepalese human rights lawyer on a European speaking tour. Human rights lawyer, journalist and author Jitman Basnet has been detained and tortured by Maoist ...
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Chef loses privacy against battle against firm
Celebrity restaurateur Marco Pierre White has had his High Court claim against City firm Withers struck out by Mr Justice Eady. White (pictured) was seeking damages for an alleged breach of privacy from Withers, his wife’s lawyers during their divorce proceedings. White claimed Withers had instructed ...
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'Fragmentation' fears over regulation review
A review of solicitor regulation must not be allowed to fragment the profession, sole practitioners have warned. Hamish McNair, chairman of the Sole Practitioners Group (SPG), said: ‘Sole practitioners and solicitors at magic circle firms may have very different clients, but it is important to ...
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Medical care 'lottery' for detainees
A top forensic physician has criticised the quality of medico-legal help available to some police station detainees, backing lawyers’ claims that cost-cutting in medical care could block access to justice.
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New assault on third-party capture
Solicitors are joining forces to attack the practice of insurance companies ‘capturing’ personal injury clients. The move reflects continuing concern that some insurance companies are pressurising claimants into instructing companies’ panel solicitors, rather than their independent solicitor, and to accept reduced compensation.
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China defence lawyers still face hostility
China’s defence lawyers still suffer violence, threats and arbitrary detention despite the country’s progress in embracing the rule of law, a Human Rights Watch researcher has warned. Nicholas Bequelin, speaking at the Law Society last week, said there is no room for a legal system independent ...
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News
'Conflicts' cost accident victims dear
Lax regulation and ‘systemic conflicts of interest’ have deprived motor accident victims of legal advice and encouraged them to accept reduced compensation from insurers, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) alleged this week. APIL’s chief executive Denise Kitchener described as ‘institutionalised’ the practice of third-party ...
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Redundancy help for lawyers
Solicitors faced with redundancy – together with the 700 already made jobless since the financial crisis began – are to receive urgent help from the Law Society. The Society has prepared guidance to help practitioners with advice on negotiating redundancy packages, working notice periods, continuing professional ...
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Fair trial plea in Colombia
A last-ditch attempt to defend a bereaved father from ‘trumped-up’ terrorism charges in Colombia has been made by human rights lawyer Yenly Mendez. Mendez was in London this week to drum up international support for community leader Miguel Angelo Gonzales, whose son earlier this year became ...
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First year of OPG dogged by delays and disruption
A damning report into the first 12 months of the body charged with protecting people lacking mental capacity to make decisions for themselves has revealed a track record of delays, inaccurate information and inefficiency. The body, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), came into being ...
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Legal aid leads Europe
England and Wales has fewer courts per head of population than Belgium, Ireland or the Russian Federation, but spends at least four times more on legal aid than any other Council of Europe jurisdiction, an official survey reveals this week. The Council’s European Commission for the ...
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Registry to shed staff
The Land Registry of England and Wales is offering redundancy terms to around 1,250 staff, prompting fears that an ‘exodus of experience’ could harm standards of service once the property market recovers. Revenue at the self-funding agency has fallen sharply in recent months with the collapse ...
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Ghana’s black gold to lure lawyers
Oil and gas-rich Ghana could provide a wealth of opportunities for legal experts as it upgrades its legal and physical infrastructure, according to members of a lawyers’ trade mission. The mission, led by the Law Society’s International Division, met Ghanaian lawyers, government and industry figures ...
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Anger at ‘propaganda’ of MoJ family courts report
Activists have dismissed a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) commissioned survey into family courts’ handling of contact orders as ‘propaganda’. The survey of 11 courts, by Oxford University’s Centre for Family Law and Policy, found that the perception that courts awarded non-resident parents little or no contact ...