Last 3 months headlines – Page 1684
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European Court judgment on DNA retention
The European Court of Human Rights, in a landmark judgment delivered in December 2008, decided that the UK’s policy of retaining DNA samples and profiles of innocent people is indiscriminate and unlawful.
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Legal advice
Conditional fee agreements – Legal costs insurance – Solicitors’ powers Kier Tankard (appellant) v John Fredricks Plastics Ltd (respondent); (1) Fawcett Old Ltd (2) Michael Jane Hair & Beauty (appellants) v Yvonne Hibberd (respondent); Mark Jones (appellant) v Karl ...
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Once more into the breach
In December 2007, when the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority first debated the referrals rule, there was shock at the level of non-compliance. A year on, and with non-compliance still high, comes the realisation that solicitors who breach the rule often do so wilfully. The saving grace, such as ...
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The bar Public Access scheme is good for solicitors
There is no right way to go shopping. Some people will visit the supermarket before the delicatessen. Others will not. There is no right way to seek financial services. Some will see an independent financial adviser. Others will speak to their accountant or bank. There is no right way to ...
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How the internet has changed the role of media lawyers
Defamation suits aren’t what they used to be. Gone are the days when a defamatory allegation was communicated predominantly in the print media and, though sensational at the time, would generally be relegated to chip-wrapping the next day. As media specialist Amber Melville-Brown at David Price Solicitors & Advocates observes, ...
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Employment tribunals apply the law without fear or favour
I refer to the letter from Martin Mears (see [2008] Gazette, 11 December, 10). It is titled ‘Tribunal judges must be impartial.’ They certainly are. The advertisement that appeared in the Gazette on 4 December was an error on the part of the Judicial Appointments Commission; Mears’ letter simply compounds ...
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Access denied
The item on multiple age-discrimination claims (see [2008] Gazette, 4 December, 4) seems slightly one-sided.
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Employment tribunals are not biased
The employment tribunals are not biased and the Judicial Appointments Commission is not politicised (see [2008] Gazette, 11 December, 10). The information pack we have sent to every applicant for these posts says: ‘The purpose of this judicial office is to administer justice in the Employment ...
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Application rejection fee mistake
I am writing to alert the profession to the fact that the Office of the Public Guardian is rejecting applications and recharging the £150 fee if any mistake – no matter how small or obvious – has been made in part 1 of a lasting power of attorney.
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Reporting suspicion
You recently reported that the Serious Organised Crime Agency wants solicitors to make more reports on suspected money laundering after a fall of 40% in the number of reports made (see [2008] Gazette, 20 November, 3).
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Old Obiter's Almanac for 2009
JanuaryCity firm DLA Piper installs a multi-megawatt wind turbine atop its Noble Street office as part of scheme to cut carbon emissions to zero. Election fever mounts. ...
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Tinkling the ivories
Following our request for solicitor musicians, Obiter received a picture of Graham Spittle, a past president of Hertfordshire Law Society, pulling out the stops at the chapel organ of Downing College Cambridge on 18 December. The occasion was the candlelit carol service arranged each year, for solicitors, barristers, academics and ...
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Booby prize
A year ago we brought you the gift that keeps on giving – the partner profiles on the website of north-west firm DWF. Each profile is accompanied by a stylish black-and-white photograph of the partner, an office chair – and a representation of a particular interest of theirs. ...
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Moving with the times
I hope that you are suitably rested after the Christmas break, and may I wish you all a happy new year. I am now halfway through my year as president of the Law Society. It is at this point that my fellow office holders and I take stock of our ...
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Firms a step closer to setting up in India
The Indian government has taken an important legislative step toward opening up the country’s legal market to foreign firms. Last month the Indian parliament finally passed a bill allowing the formation of limited liability partnerships. Originally introduced in January 2006, the bill itself will not ...
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Costs-capping order appeal
The High Court will next week hear an appeal against what is thought to be the first costs-capping order made against a defendant. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly had estimated its costs of defending an action brought by Susan James over alleged side-effects of the drug Zyprexa ...
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Legal profession ‘snapshot’
An official quarterly report on the state of the legal profession is to be released for the first time this year, the Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed this week. The ‘snapshot’ will include the number of firms opening and closing and the number of solicitors practising ...
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Forced retirement backing
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has rejected the ‘stereotyped assumption’ that law firm partners will underperform by the time they reach the age of 65. However, the ruling otherwise backed a compulsory retirement age in a discrimination claim brought by former senior partner Leslie Seldon against Kent firm Clarkson Wright & ...
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Dire warning for conveyancers
Survival will be the ‘name of the game’ in conveyancing over the next year, as practitioners forecast falling sales and more job cuts, with medium-sized firms hardest hit. Peter Rodd, chairman of the Law Society’s property section, predicted ‘a dire market without any sign of improvement ...
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Criminal defence lawyers call for all police forces to provide interpreters
Criminal defence lawyers have launched a campaign to ensure all police forces provide qualified interpreters to non-English speaking detainees at police stations. A 2007 national agreement on the use of interpreters – drawn up by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform in consultation with the Association ...