Last 3 months headlines – Page 1182
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Take on the Winslow case
In Terence Rattigan’s play The Winslow Boy, the most famous barrister of the day is engaged to clear the name of 14-year old Ronnie Winslow, accused of the theft of a five-shilling postal order. The stain on young Winslow’s character is lifted – but at some cost to his family. ...
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SRA Handbook in force
The seventh version of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Handbook comes in to force this week. Changes include outcomes dealing with the ban on referral fees in personal injury cases, and the removal of rules put forward in the first phase of the SRA’s Red Tape Initiative. ...
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Judiciary urges caution on contempt
Proceedings against publishers and jury members should be the very ‘last measure’ taken where contempt of court is alleged, the judiciary has said in its response to a law commission consultation. The response’s authors, Lord Justice Treacy and Mr Justice Tugendhat, said that any measure likely ...
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Criminal legal aid: what now?
The government’s latest consultation paper on legal aid makes grim reading for any solicitor who undertakes criminal defence work and, indeed, for many providers of other legally aided work. The headlines have majored on the Daily Mail-pleasing stories of taking much prison work out ...
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Memory lane
The Law Society’s Gazette, April 1953Legal Aid Scheme In my view it is high time that the Society pressed for the introduction of a new system of remuneration for solicitors in contentious matters. The existing scales are out of date and bear no relation either to ...
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Expert witness ruling a blow to children, Society warns
Children involved in family law cases will face extra uncertainty following a High Court ruling on the funding of expert witnesses, the Law Society has warned. The Society reacted with disappointment to the ruling that the Legal Aid Agency, formerly the Legal Services Commission (LSC), is ...
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CoA backs Law Society on disbursement liability
Solicitors who help their clients by funding the cost of disbursements should not be liable for costs if a case fails, the Court of Appeal has ruled. The ruling came after an intervention by the Law Society in the case of Flatman v Germany published today ...
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Shadowing a High Court judge
Taking part in the Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme (JWSS), I was to learn, represents a remarkable insight into the workings of the High Court from the judiciary’s perspective. Having arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice, at the Rolls Building, I was greeted by a chancery associate and shown to ...
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Osborne Clarke ups law school rivalry with BPP switch
South-west firm Osborne Clarke has taken the unusual step of announcing that it is moving the training of its future lawyers from the University of Law (formerly the College of Law) to BPP from autumn 2013. The announcement will add to the considerable rivalry between the ...
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Rise in small-claims limit may be good for litigants
When it comes to the small-claims court, all the focus seems to have been on personal injury.
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Barrister loses DIY tax scheme case
A former London tax barrister who designed his own tax avoidance scheme has lost his tribunal appeal against HM Revenue & Customs. He was attempting to avoid paying £190,000 in tax. Rex Bretten QC designed a complex scheme which entailed setting up trusts and investing £500,000 ...
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Lord Sugar’s court victory cue for campaign against employment laws
Business leader Lord Sugar has vowed to fight in the House of Lords against a ‘new wave of claim culture’ after seeing off a claim from a former winner of The Apprentice. Stella English lost her claim for constructive dismissal after a tribunal rejected her argument ...
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TUPE changes set to increase disputes
The Law Society has dismissed government plans to repeal the 2006 Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations on the transfer of ‘service provision’ from one employer to another, arguing that the change would lead to commercial and legal uncertainty and more tribunal disputes. The ...
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The problem with the language judges use
‘Hey-ho the witch is dead.’ This isn’t a piece about Margaret Thatcher’s life or death. But as with a handful of court cases from the past year, I’m struck by the language used – that, and the fact it often passes without comment. ...
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MoJ cuts driven by Treasury demands
The Treasury played a key role in cajoling justice ministers to push ahead with civil litigation reforms, an influential House of Commons committee report has suggested. A public accounts committee report into the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA), which groups together departmental financial statements for the ...
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Family law scheme aims to limit conflict
Family lawyers have set up a scheme to help separating parents who do not qualify for legal aid to work together to minimise conflict and put their children first after the breakdown of their relationship. Resolution has been given more than £650,000 by the Department for ...
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Fall in solicitor prosecutions
The number of prosecutions opened against solicitors fell dramatically in the first quarter of 2013. The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Legal & Enforcement division issued just 17 Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal cases in the first three months of this year, compared ...
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Court interpreter service getting worse, new figures show
The company contracted to provide court interpreters has failed to reach its performance target after a year, new statistics have revealed, leading to delay in thousands of court cases. Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show that the performance got worse in the first month ...