Last 3 months headlines – Page 1446
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Neuberger warns against mediation and defends legal aid and Jackson
The Master of the Rolls warned against mediation being used as a replacement for the courts, defended the cost of legal aid, and voiced strong support for Lord Justice Jackson’s civil justice reforms in a speech earlier this week. Giving the annual Bentham Lecture, Lord Neuberger ...
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What happens when politicians clash with courts over human rights?
‘Is X a good judge?’ one lawyer asked another. There was a pause while the second lawyer weighed his words. ‘There are only good judges and better judges,’ he replied at last. ‘And yes, X is a good judge.’ ...
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Tenancy deposits
Since 6 April 2007, the well-worn road of disputes about the return of tenants’ deposits has taken a new turn with the statutory obligation on the landlord to protect the deposit within an authorised tenant deposit scheme (section 213 Housing Act 2004). ...
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Considering the statutory obligation on landlords to protect tenants’ deposits
Since 6 April 2007, the well-worn road of disputes about the return of tenants’ deposits has taken a new turn with the statutory obligation on the landlord to protect the deposit within an authorised tenant deposit scheme (section 213 Housing Act 2004). ...
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Family law
Child abduction - Children’s welfare - Discretionary powers Re O (Children): CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justices Wilson, Pitchford, Black): 16 February 2011 The appellant mother (M) appealed against a decision ...
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Civil procedure
Legal profession - Course of conduct - Defence statements - Harassment Iqbal v Dean Manson Solicitors: CA (Civ Div) (Lady Justice Smith, Lords Justices Rix, Richards): 15 February 2011 The ...
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Uren v Corporate Leisure (UK) Ltd and Ministry of Defence
Mr Uren was a member of the RAF who suffered a spinal injury when taking part in a ‘health and fun day’, during which he dived head first into an inflatable pool containing water with a depth of 18 inches while competing to collect pieces of plastic fruit. ...
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Will the new act begin with a whimper?
Last week, the first corporate prosecution under the much-heralded Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 ended with a fine of £385,000 against Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings. This followed its conviction for corporate manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court two days earlier. ...
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Crown Prosecution Service misdirection
The government has no money. Legal aid is under threat. The Law Society strategy for savings takes a broader view of the legal system than government is capable of doing because of departmental and executive agency demarcations. As a result, ...
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Fees in deep freeze
I long ago came to the conclusion that the last government did not like solicitors, presumably because we were the point of contact for members of the public who were dissatisfied with the actions of the executive and wished to turn to the judiciary for redress. ...
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Get off the bandwagon
Should you really be congratulating Lawrence Davies in Lawyer in the News for jumping on the political correctness bandwagon, championing the rights of a Mexican national with a sense-of-humour failure? My own experience of the profession is that too many members take themselves too seriously. ...
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Legal small-business bashing?
Ken Clarke should not judge all lawyers by the standards of the few. Perhaps the statute-chasing, ambulance-following, human rights adherents he so loathes are indeed lurking in huddles just waiting to make millions out of every piece of small business-crushing legislation created by the 1,300 ...
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A professional menace
Paul Davidoff’s letter strikes a chord with me. The problem of poorly drafted wills (whether made by solicitors or unqualified individuals) is of general application. Where I differ from Mr Davidoff, however, is in his reference to Will Aid, where the implication is that these ...
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War of the words: how the government controls the debate with new legal lexicon
Ministers in the coalition government don’t talk about ‘fat cat lawyers’. This may be because policy-makers are moving on from an unhelpful cliche as they prepare to cut legal aid, or it could be because any focus on high rewards turns the public’s ...
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Legal Services Board should get the job done
Is it appropriate for a regulatory overseer to be an evangelist for that which it would oversee, particularly when the consequences of ‘regulatory capture’ in the financial services industry are so painfully uppermost in the public mind?
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Government's rhetoric on divorce mediation is far too simplistic
by Christina Blacklaws, senior partner at Blacklaws Davis Mediation works. I have practised as a mediator for 15 years now and am still shiny-eyed about it.
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Landmark judgment highlights retainer letter lapse
A High Court judge warned solicitors of the need to be clear in retainer letters, as he ruled that a firm had breached its contract by refusing to carry out further work for a client until he had paid his bills, in a ...
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UK borders ‘less secure’, say Home Office immigration staff
UK immigration staff charged with policing the nation’s borders believe that borders have become less secure as a result of government changes to immigration law, Home Office research has indicated. A study ...
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National Approved Letting Scheme quality mark deal
Landlord and tenant solicitors can become affiliated to the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), following an agreement with the Law Society announced this week. NALS represents landlords ...
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Mediator shortage looms, says family lawyers' group
Separating couples may ‘escape’ the new requirement to consult a mediator before going to court because of a shortage of properly accredited mediators, family lawyers’ group Resolution has suggested. The group’s chair Dave Allison also warned there was a risk that members of the public may ...