Last 3 months headlines – Page 1738
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Investigation into lawyer assassinations
Colombia is setting up a special prosecution team dedicated to investigating the assassination of human rights lawyers following talks between government officials and a delegation of high-profile UK legal professionals.
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AIG bailout wards off PII catastrophe
The US Government’s $85bn (£48bn) bailout of insurer AIG has averted a catastrophe in the volatile solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) market, brokers have said. However, some reported that a minority of clients remained wary of obtaining AIG cover, and that the period between AIG’s share ...
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EU evidence exchange warning
The free exchange of forensic evidence across European Union (EU) member states could result in miscarriages of justice unless defence lawyers are properly trained to challenge expert evidence from different jurisdictions, a conference in London heard this week.
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NHS negligence cover comes under scrutiny
Pressure is mounting on the government to explain the relationship between the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), which pays compensation to victims of clinical negligence, and after-the-event (ATE) insurer FirstAssist. In a letter to health secretary Alan Johnson and justice secretary Jack Straw – seen by the ...
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Will writers attack comparison site
Will writers have reacted with alarm to plans by a price-comparison website to enter the legal services market. The Society of Will Writers this week warned that an online match-making service offered by the Paaleads.com venture could be ‘devastating to the professionalism’ of the industry. In ...
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Met safety deposit box raid slammed
A solicitor representing owners of safety deposit boxes raided by police has spoken out against what he says is excessive use of powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Lawrence Kelly, of London solicitors Lawrence Stephens, claimed the authorities are using warrants to trawl ...
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Disability on firms' radar
A national charity has launched an action plan to help law students with disabilities overcome barriers to pursuing a legal career such as going to the ‘wrong sort of university’. Some 21,350 first-year undergraduates declared a disability in 2007, with law students making up 12% ...
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Death row execution 'inhuman'
The execution of the US’s longest-serving death row prisoner, Jack Alderman, has been condemned as cruel and inhumane by those who fought to overturn the sentence. As the Gazette went to press last week, a court granted a last-minute stay of execution for Alderman, who had ...
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Mediation: lawyers still need convincing
When former Court of Appeal judge Sir Henry Brooke retired at the age 70, it was to embark on a new career. Two years on he is much in demand as a mediator, having already conducted more than 50 mediations, from high-profile corporate disputes to individuals at war over land ...
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Are you being served?
Robert Hill looks at the new regime for service of documents as outlined in the changes to the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2008 The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2008 (S.I 2008 no 2178) come into force on 1 October. The most important change is to repeal ...
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A fraudster's charter?
Top judges are deeply concerned about plans to introduce 'plea negotiation' in fraud cases. A move to US-style ‘plea bargaining’ in fraud cases would undermine British justice, leading judges have told the government. The comments, from the Council of Circuit Judges, will ...
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At the whim of Westminster
A UK bill of rights is unlikely to come soon, but there is still hope for the future. It is a pity – if only for the future of the idea of a British bill of rights – that Labour’s electoral hopes look so dire. In ...
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South-west lawyers battle the credit crunch
A decade of benign growth has seen leading firms in south-west England attract national clients. It is getting tough on the high street, however. Polly Botsford reports. The outlook for the south-west can perhaps best be described as ‘bright sunshine, with a few dark clouds on ...
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Freedom of information
Requests to public authorities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI) are becoming more challenging. Some authorities are even receiving requests about how they handle such requests.
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Family law
Civil procedure – Practice directions – Trial bundles – Sanctions for non-compliance – Identification of defaulters in open court Re X & Y (bundles): Fam Div (Mr Justice Munby): 22 August 2008
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Employment
Tax – Contracts of employment – Information technology – Provision of services through intermediary – IR35 Dragonfly Consultancy Ltd v Revenue & Customs Commissioners: Ch D (Mr Justice Henderson): 3 September 2008 ...
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Sentencing
Attempts – Kidnapping – Sentence length – Violent nature of offence R v Jason Matthew Eminson: CA (Crim Div) (Mr Justice Mitting, Mr Justice Tugendhat): 29 August 2008 The ...
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Legal profession
Negligence – Bankruptcy – Breach of contract – Causation – Conveyancing – Legal advice Sara Dayman (as trustee of the estate of Sandra Estelle Fielding, a former bankrupt) v Lawrence Graham (a firm): ChD (Judge Hodge QC): 28 August ...
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Criminal law
Environment – Unincorporated associations – Clubs – Criminal liability – Pollution R v (1) RL (2) JF: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Hughes, Mr Justice David Clarke, Mr Justice Blair): 28 August 2008 ...