Last 3 months headlines – Page 1719
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Court calamities
I feel compelled to respond to Majid Shafiq’s ‘challenge’ to find ‘a bigger failure by a court to conduct business in an acceptable way’ (see [2008] Gazette, 26 June, 11). My recent experiences of various courts include: A telephone ...
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Silver lining?
In the light of recent turmoil on the stockmarket, there would appear to be scope for charities to gain substantially from estates which include shares in companies that have declined dramatically in value (such as banks, builders and property companies). Where there is a taxable estate ...
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Immigration issues
As an immigration consultancy based in Sheffield we recently read with great interest an article published in March concerning the quality of advice for Turkish workers (see [2008] Gazette, 6 March, 4). While we agree that the quality of immigration services is high, we do not ...
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Correction
Dr Ann Barker, the Bar Standards Board’s new complaints commissioner, was wrongly named Parker in last week’s issue. Apologies.
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Showing the way
Our changes to guidance on the transfer system safeguard the public interest while minimising any adverse consequences An area of our work that has attracted considerable interest is the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) recent decision to improve the arrangements which allow lawyers qualified in a number ...
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Matters of discretion
A new sentencing commission could make those responsible for policy more accountable Lord Justice Gage’s report on sentencing will make interesting reading – not so much for what he says but more for the degree of restraint with which he says it. The appeal judge – ...
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Fox on the gun...
Has legal legend Ronnie Fox finally unveiled the secret of his success as a top partnership law and employment lawyer? Talk about shock tactics. Sadly, Obiter cannot reveal that Ronnie – who runs Fox Lawyers in London – attends meetings with the opposition in a Sherman ...
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Sole practitioners
Yet more news of fast lady lawyers – and Obiter believes the fastest lady lawyer in the land may finally have been chased down.
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State of the nation
Just after the poor darlings at Queen Mary College, University of London got their degree marks, the results of something far more important came up – those of the first Field Fisher Waterhouse Essay competition for the QM law students who help out at the university’s London Legal Advice Centre. ...
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Breaking down the barriers
Here’s a thought: the law is to be fully exposed to the unfettered free market, yet the neo-liberal orthodoxy which has dominated government policy for three decades – and which gave birth to the Legal Services Act – is suddenly tainted. Does this matter?
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Employment law needs reality check
Whitehall is right to abandon the controversial Dispute Resolution Regulations. Ever since the ill-fated Dispute Resolution Regulations 2002 were first introduced, there has been a groundswell of opinion, led by the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA), to have them reversed.
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Councils launch court fee challenge
Four local authorities have joined forces to launch a judicial review against the government, claiming that new powers forcing councils to bear the full cost of child-care cases are unlawful, the Gazette can reveal. Hillingdon Borough Council in London, Leeds City Council, Liverpool City Council and ...
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Shape up to survive, conveyancers told
The Law Society has warned conveyancers not to panic as the property market stagnates, but to take action to ‘trim’ themselves down.
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Titan prison plans under attack
The government’s plans to build its way out of prison overcrowding came under attack last week from the authors of a seven-year investigation into the criminal justice system.
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India pact 'years away'
A free-trade agreement between India and the EU – which should help open up the legal market to foreign firms – is still at least three years away, according to one of the EU negotiators. Sajjad Karim, a Conservative MEP on the international trade committee, also ...
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Defence deal
Defence deal: Birmingham firm Wragge & Co advised the Ministry of Defence, as part of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, on a £3bn contract to build aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales – which will be the largest warships ever ...
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SRA eyes visits to big firms
Clifford Chance has undergone a trial Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) inspection as the regulator works out how best to inspect larger law firms. The City giant volunteered to be the SRA’s ‘guinea pig’ and five inspectors spent a week at the firm, learning how a practice ...
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Sir Igor is new chief justice
Sir Igor Judge, the current President of the Queen’s Bench Division, has been named as the next Lord Chief Justice.
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Call for more 'users of justice' on CJC
The Civil Justice Council should have more ‘users’ of justice and fewer lawyers among its members, an independent review has recommended. Jonathan Spencer’s review, published this week by the Ministry of Justice, says the concept of the council is sound, and commends its ‘essential mediating ...
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Anonymity fears
Criminal practitioners have urged the government to consult properly before ploughing ahead with emergency legislation to allow witness anonymity, which they fear could jeopardise fair trials. Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, said: ‘The home secretary should stop and think about the ...