Last 3 months headlines – Page 1730
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Arbitration guidelines
Simpler, cheaper, quicker – cross-border arbitrators are working with new guidelines from the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. The American Arbitration Association (AAA), through its international arm, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), issued new guidelines to arbitrators this year, effective from May 31. They ...
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Criminal: trials in absence, youth crime, hearsay
Where a defendant fails to appear for trial and the judge is sure that he has deliberately absented himself, it is necessary to proceed in the defendant’s absence (R v Anthony Jones [2003] 1 AC1).
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Arbitration
Conflict of laws – Insolvency – Applicable law – Arbitration agreements – EC law (1) Josef Syska acting as the administrator of Elektrim SA (in bankruptcy) (2) Elektrim SA (in bankruptcy) v (1) Vivendi Universal SA (2) Vivendi ...
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Intellectual property
Computers – Excluded subject matter – Patentability - Software Symbian Ltd v Comptroller General of Patents: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Jacob, Maurice Kay, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury): 8 October 2008 ...
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Employment
Employees – Racism – Suspension from work – Unfounded allegations of racist abuse Centrewest London Buses Ltd v Ukachukwu: CA (Civ Div) (Sir Anthony Clarke, Master of the Rolls, Lords Justice Maurice Kay, Stanley Burnton): 8 October 2008 ...
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Personal injury
Addiction – Causation – Contributory negligence – Expert evidence – Prison offices Ryan St George (a patient suing by his father and litigation friend David St George) v Home Office: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Ward, Dyson, Lloyd): 8 ...
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Human rights
Health – Assisted reproduction – Consent to treatment – EC law L v (1) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (2) Secretary of State for Health: Fam Div (Mr Justice Charles): 3 October 2008 ...
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Economic downturn impacts Welsh firms
Law firms in Wales, from big commercial firms to rural high street practices, are waiting to see just how they will be affected by the turmoil afflicting the wider UK economy. ‘No one is immune to what is happening but there aren’t the extremes here,’ says Alan Meredith, senior partner ...
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A hard act to follow
Lord Bingham was the perfect person to address the recent Conference of World City Bar Leaders.
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The bigger they are - the harder they fall?
A Law Society review of solicitor regulation is both timely and welcome.
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Toxic waste
I write with reference to Peter Williamson’s article ‘Rehearsing for the Big Bang’ on the advent of alternative business structures (see [2008] Gazette, 9 October, 10). I remember the government’s decision some years ago to have ‘light-touch’ regulation of the financial sector. We are all now ...
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Litigation slur
I write as chair of the Law Society Civil Litigation Committee, and on behalf of litigation solicitors, to correct a very inaccurate slur upon solicitors in the feature headlined ‘Have your say’ (see [2008] Gazette, 16 October, 16). The author says that ‘the profession has so ...
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Small wonders
I refer to Brian Craig’s comments alluding to the creation of a ‘cottage industry’ in respect of criminal legal aid firms (see [2008] Gazette, 9 October, 3). Such a view is unqualified and is also patronising towards smaller criminal practices. Mr Craig apparently believes that larger firms should be entitled ...
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Let the Hunt begin
Rare opportunity for grassroots lawyers to make their voices heard. Few subjects in the Gazette’s ambit generate such impassioned opinions as regulation. Every week our postbag is guaranteed to contain numerous missives from lawyers taking a swipe at the Solicitors Regulation Authority and/or Legal Complaints Service. ...
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The truth is out there
Public inquiries are cathartic for grieving families but often fail to address the very failings they identify. In recent years, public inquiries have become part of the fabric of our political life. Their recommendations are often the platform for major public policy changes.
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How to earn your green spurs
In the A-Z of Global Warming, personal injury lawyer Simon Rosser has written a compact and useful guide, making the complexities of climate change more accessible to the lay person. The book is aimed at the reader who is aware of climate change as an issue, ...
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The enema of reason
And still they come, those legal typos. Some bring tears to our eyes, for more reasons than one. Sarah O’Leary of Dobson Solicitors recalls a brief to counsel on a rape case referring to a client undergoing a ‘penile swap’ at the police station. ‘Politicians might see this as an ...
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SAL takes a dim view of Diwali date clash
Oh dear. In a worthy bid to promote equality and diversity in the profession, the Bar Council South East Circuit (SEC) intended to hold an event called ‘Against the Odds’ on 28 October. Good stuff, except for one small detail: no one noticed that the date clashed with Diwali. ...
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Dead funny show
Who said the death penalty wasn’t funny? Trained solicitor and Irish comic Keith Farnan will be telling some dead funny jokes as part of his one-man comedy act about the death penalty. In Cruel and Unusual, Farnan’s stand-up show tells his story from law school in ...