Last 3 months headlines – Page 1691
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Personal injury
Negligence – Health and safety at work – Employers’ liability – Application of exception to ‘but for’ test of causation Grace Sanderson (administratrix of the estate of Mr Sanderson, deceased) v Donna Marie Hull: CA (Civ Div) (Lords ...
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Criminal law
Computers – Criminal Cases Review Commission – Indecent photographs of children – Knowledge – Detected computer images R v Christopher Rowe: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, Mr Justice Swift, Mr Justice Cranston): 3 ...
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Criminal evidence
Competence – Learning difficulties – Sexual activity with children - Witness R v M: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Richards, Mr Justice Foskett, Mr Justice Jacob): 4 November 2008 The ...
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Tougher credit rules and anxious clients
‘Cash is king’, the practice management mantra for firms in the downturn, is sadly more honoured in the breach than in the observance. The collapse last month of Key Business Finance (KBF), the specialist solicitors’ lending arm of the failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki, is a case in point.
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A simple solution to the problem of non-compliance
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reports that the level of compliance in relation to referral arrangements remains low. Antony Townsend makes plain his disappointment (see [2008] Gazette, 6 November, 1). It appears that the SRA does not understand why this is happening. We believe we do, and that the reason, ...
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Day of reckoning
I congratulate Martyn Day on the success he is having in his use of conditional fee agreements (CFAs) (see [2008] Gazette, 6 November, 14), but it is important to add that the Legal Services Commission (LSC) still funds major group claims.
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Short-sighted?
In reference to your negative editorial on the outcome of the postal ballot on Charter amendments (see [2008] Gazette, 30 October, 8), the powers that be at Chancery Lane should not assume that the majority who voted against the proposals were merely motivated by protectionist tendencies in difficult times.
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Richard Alderman to shake up the Serious Fraud Office
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is trying to shed its reputation as unwieldy, expensive and blundering. In doing so, it is about to undertake the difficult task of cutting the amount it spends on barristers and train staff to do the advocacy work instead. This ...
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It couldn't happen here
There’s been much talk over the past couple of weeks about why the UK has yet to produce a political figure comparable to Barack Obama (pictured). Now Hackney MP Diane Abbott has come up with a novel theory. Chairing a House of Commons meeting on the Ouseley review of regulatory ...
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Canny Scotland
Obiter confesses to enjoying a glass or three of the hard stuff at this time of year, so he’s not going to get sanctimonious over revelations that the Attorney General’s office has spent a whopping £102.35 of taxpayers’ money on alcoholic drinks so ...
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Last orders for Council
You know what it’s like when you’ve had the decorators in. The Law Society is understandably a little proud of its newly refurbished high-tech Council Chamber, where each seat has ‘access to power and data’ and will shortly have electronic voting. A little fastidious, too. Attendees ...
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Paul Dacre’s belligerent attack on Mr Justice Eady
‘Dull doesn’t sell newspapers. Boring doesn’t pay the mortgage.’ Thus did Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre begin his speech to the Society of Editors. He proceeded to give a masterclass in exactly what he meant. No nuance clouded his demonisation of the Human Rights Act or of Mr Justice Eady. ...
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Of bills and balance sheets
Some solicitors enter the profession because it is a vocation, others because lawyering offers a comfortable living and a measure of status. We would venture that only a small minority become solicitors primarily because they aspire to be business people or entrepreneurs. After all, you study accountancy if you want ...
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Potential based on ability alone is not ‘political correctness’
Barack Obama’s election marks a turning point far beyond America’s shores. It is not proof that the problems of equality and diversity are behind us, but it provides an impetus for us all to make renewed efforts for lasting change.
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Formal memorandums and production-sharing agreements
Law of the Land: City firm SJ Berwin advised British Land in establishing a formal memorandum of understanding with the Highways Agency. The memorandum establishes a framework for promoting sustainable development and regeneration. The Highways Agency was advised in-house.
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Crunch skips court
The credit crunch has yet to create a wave of commercial litigation, according to latest Ministry of Justice statistics. Although the number of commercial cases launched in the High Court hit 64,046 in 2007 – the highest for seven years – this represents only a 1.6% ...
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FTSE 100 to have say in review
The UK’s biggest companies will take part in Lord Hunt of Wirral’s corporate liaison group, the members of which can now be revealed by the Gazette. In-house counsel at FTSE 100 companies will be represented by Peter Maynard, chair of the GC100 and company secretary at ...
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Kickback law to get reboot
Individuals who bribe public officials, or companies that negligently fail to prevent bribery, will be guilty of new offences if Law Commission proposals become legislation. In Reforming Bribery, published today, the commission recommends replacing a ‘morass’ of bribery laws with two general offences of giving bribes ...
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Proof of identity rules will hit home hard
Conveyancing could grind to a halt under new Land Registry rules for requiring proof of identity, the chairman of the Law Society property section, Peter Rodd, has warned. Solicitors should be ‘very cautious’ about dealing with new forms which could expose them to liability. New ...