Last 3 months headlines – Page 1451
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News
Sentencing
Criminal procedure - Antisocial behaviour orders - Sentence length - Supply of drugs R v (1) Kirk Jordan Barclay (2) Noah Ntuve (3) Francis Cowan (4) Trevor Junior Prince Campbell: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Pitchford, Mr Justice Cranston, ...
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Sentencing
Criminal law - Cultivation of cannabis - Sentence length R v (1) John Auton (2) Lawrence Hindle (3) Glen Vincent (4) Stephen Willis: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Hughes LJ (vice-president), Mrs Justice Eady, Mr Justice Rafferty DBE): 3 ...
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Legal profession can exploit incoherent legal aid cuts
In the words of a blues anthem from my youth: ‘Don’t let me be misunderstood.’ Publicly, we cannot be defeatist about the government’s legal aid proposals. But we also need the quiet discussion which all lawyers have, at some time, with a client: ‘I understand ...
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Law Society sets out £394m justice system savings
The Law Society has today submitted proposals to government that would make savings of £394m in the justice system. The proposals would provide an alternative to the £350m cuts to the legal aid budget contained in the government’s consultation paper on legal aid reform. ...
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QualitySolicitors opens 100 new branches and business brand
National legal brand QualitySolicitors opened 100 new branches today, the Gazette can reveal. The new member firms will take the total number of QS-branded branches to 175. Nottingham firm Wilson Browne and Cornwall firm Nalders are among the new joiners. Other ...
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Lawyer wins £10,000 damages from Solicitors from Hell owner
A judge has condemned the owner of the Solicitors from Hell website for his conduct when committing a serious libel against a young solicitor. Mr Justice Lloyd Jones said that comments on Rick Kordowski’s website, solicitorsfromhell.co.uk, which criticised Juliet Farrall’s professional capability, were baseless, abusive, malicious, ...
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Client confidentiality fears over Lloyds request
A request by Lloyds Banking Group for members of its conveyancing panel to provide client account information has sparked fears that firms could be in breach of confidentiality rules. Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said he was ‘urgently liaising’ with the group to clarify the ...
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Withdrawing legal aid support for disabled children lacks compassion
Looking at the categories of people from whom the Ministry of Justice proposes to remove legal aid support, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that disabled children might be the most deserving of reprieve.
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Where should reserved legal activities apply?
by Professor Stephen Mayson, director of the Legal Services Institute The current reserved activities are rights of audience, the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities (sometimes inaccurately referred to as the conveyancing reservation), probate activities, notarial activities, and the administration of oaths.
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Injured parties deserve full compensation, says Law Society
Individuals should be compensated in full for the wrongdoing or negligence of others, the Law Society said this week as it submitted its response to the government’s consultation on civil litigation costs. The Society said that conditional fee agreements (CFAs) have provided ‘important access to justice ...
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Defendant delays driving up claims costs
Delays by defendants are driving up the costs of personal injury and clinical negligence claims, an academic report has suggested. The study, carried out by the University of Lincoln and commissioned by claims referrer National Accident Helpline (NAH), suggested that the average daily cost of defendant ...
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Magistrates consider judicial review over court closures
Magistrates’ courts earmarked for closure are considering legal action against the Ministry of Justice, the Gazette has learned. The Magistrates Association (MA) has taken legal advice regarding a potential judicial review of the lord chancellor’s proposals for court closures. The controversial plans, ...
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European Commission targets collective redress system
The European Commission has relaunched its bid to introduce a coherent system for collective redress in Europe. Publishing a consultation on 4 February, the EC said it wanted to identify common legal principles on collective actions among European states. However, it ‘firmly opposes’ introducing US-style class ...
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Businesses should not pause despite Bribery Act delay
According to a recent story in the South China Morning Post, the best gift you can give to a public official in China is not an iPad, it is not even a precious jewel. The favourite gift at the moment is a rather unprepossessing pre-paid ...
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Love on the cards at MoJ
Modesty prevents Obiter from revealing the number of Valentine’s cards he received this week, save to say that the postman was breathing a little more heavily than usual when he left Obiter Towers on Monday morning.
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Poppadoms and ‘toot’ with Billy
Following on from last month’s article on the inimitable barrister Billy Rees-Davies, some further recollections are worth sharing, writes James Morton. One problem with Billy was eating with him. It was no impediment to him that he had only one arm. The difficulty was that his ...
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OAPs tackle high seas
Obiter doffs his sailor’s cap to 61-year-old Stroud solicitor John Russell, one of a four-strong team currently crossing the Atlantic on An-Tiki, a vessel built from 12-metre water and gas pipes, in a bid to raise £50,000 for charity WaterAid. The team, made ...
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Noise control
The Law Society brought the might of celebrity behind its legal aid publicity campaign last week, receiving a ringing endorsement from actress Joanna Lumley (Lumley noted that without legal aid, cases like the gurkha justice campaign could never have been fought), and gathering a host of gurkhas for a photo ...
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Pitching for a game
Obiter thanks London firm Howard Kennedy and their super-efficient PR Giselle Daverat for organising a recent five-a-side footie match with the Gazette – from which this magazine’s team was ungracious enough to emerge victorious. Any other firms brave enough to take on the ...
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Real reason for cuts
Has it occurred to anyone that the motivation behind cuts (begun by New Labour remember) in legal aid – particularly in the civil arena – may be a good deal more sinister than the coalition would have us believe? Any first-year law student should spot that ...