Last 3 months headlines – Page 1392
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Civil procedure
Costs - Probate Shovelar and others v Lane and others: Court of Appeal, Civil Division (Lord Justice Ward, Moore-Bick and Lady Justice Arden): 12 July 2011 The Court of Appeal, ...
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Personal injury caused by a hazardous floor
Hufton v Somerset County Council [2011] EWCA Civ 789. The claimant was a pupil at the defendant’s school. She suffered an injury to her knee when slipping on water on the wooden floor of the assembly hall when re-entering the building during the morning break. ...
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Derivatives
Bank - Bank loan - derivative transaction Standard Chartered Bank v Ceylon Petroleum Corporation: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Hamblen): 11 July 2011 The Queen's Bench Division, Commercial ...
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Conflict of law
Challenge to jurisdiction - Claimant judgment creditor bringing proceedings in Greece - Defendant judgment debtors seek to stay UK proceedings Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Company SAL and other companies: Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Burton): 13 ...
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National security
Closed material - Claimants subject of detention by foreign states - Claimants bringing action for damages Al Rawi and others v Security Service and others: Supreme Court (Lady Hale, Lords Phillips P, Hope DP, Rodger, Brown, Mance, Kerr, Clarke ...
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Education is supporting lawyers to advise professionals
Demand from lawyers for specialist non-legal courses has prompted one of the key providers of legal training to move their short professional development courses from the law school to the business school. BPP is refocusing its classroom courses for lawyers to offer financially based or other ...
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Looming legal aid cuts to spark closures
Government plans to cut legal aid rates by at least 10% across the board from October will cause a ‘leap into unprofitability’ for firms, solicitors warned this week. The warning comes as mayor of London Boris Johnson voiced concerns that ‘the majority’ of women who have ...
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Santander charges ‘compliance fee’
Santander is to introduce an annual compliance fee for its panel members, in a move that the Law Society has called ‘deeply disappointing’. The lender will also open its panel to new firms in August. In a letter to panel members, the bank outlines its plans to move to a ...
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Law firms to survey staff on diversity
Law firms and chambers will have to carry out regular staff surveys to monitor the diversity of their workforce from next year, after the Legal Services Board published statutory guidance on the issue this week. From 2012, the LSB will require regulators including the Solicitors Regulation ...
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Firm loses ‘partner’ employment appeal
A solicitor who was paid through a profit share rather than receiving a salary should not be classified as a partner for employment law purposes, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled. Solicitor Jeremy Briars began working for Solihull firm Williamson & Soden in November 2001. ...
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Ministry of Justice could privatise enforcement work
The Ministry of Justice may seek a private contractor to provide criminal court enforcement services, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has said. Last week, the Gazette revealed that outstanding fines had risen to £609m in the past 12 months, while enforcement staff numbers had dropped by 57, ...
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Solicitor-advocates fear QASA disadvantage
Solicitor-advocates fear they will be marginalised by the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates, and have suggested that some judges may not take part in the scheme. Advocates looking to gain accreditation at the top-two levels of the four-tiered QASA process will need judicial evaluation as well ...
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IBA updates conduct code
The International Bar Association (IBA) published a new global code of conduct this week, identifying the 10 core ethical principles that should guide legal professionals worldwide. The new code was compiled with the help of practitioners from every continent, including former Law Society president Edward Nally ...
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Consumer panel’s Hayter: solicitors 'in denial' over client views
Solicitors are ‘in denial’ about the way they are viewed by clients, the outgoing chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel told the Gazette in a parting shot at the profession this week. Dianne Hayter (pictured) said she regretted that too many lawyers were unwilling to ...
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Asbestos victims forum urges reforms veto
Campaigners for sufferers of asbestos-related disease have urged MPs to vote down civil litigation reforms. The Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum said its members’ compensation will be ‘wiped out’ if claimants have to pay legal costs from their damages. Currently, claimants must ...
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Romeo on trial
Romeo found himself in the dock this week as a group of lawyers joined the Shakespeare Schools Festival to perform The Trial of Romeo at Gray’s Inn. The performance began with young actors performing Romeo and Juliet up to the crucial moment of Tybalt’s death, ...