Latest news – Page 687
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News
LCJ warns of technology threat to justice system
The lord chief justice has today warned of the need to preserve the integrity of the trial and jury system in the face of risks posed by modern technology. In his foreword to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division’s annual review of the Legal Year, Lord ...
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Justice streamlined – but 175 new offences in government’s first year
The Ministry of Justice insists it is making progress in streamlining the criminal justice system despite adding 175 new offences during its first year in office. In total the fledgling government department passed 33 new pieces of legislation in England and Wales in the 12 ...
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Phillips attacks ‘popular narrative’ on human rights
Much of the ‘nonsense on stilts’ surrounding the Human Rights Act (HRA) in this country is generated by politicians and the media, Britain’s equality chief has said. In an article in The Sunday Times, Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, attacks ...
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ADR should not be used as a tool to force a defendant to accept unreasonable settlement terms
The apparent similarity (in my own mind, at least) between the Courts and Tribunals Service and a lunatic asylum never ceases to amaze me. The latest example is in relation to ‘small-claims mediation’. My understanding of the new (and in my view, necessary) rules was that ...
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Bach hits the mark
Insomnia sometimes has its advantages. Many years ago as a newly qualified, hungry, ambitious lawyer, my sleep pattern was destroyed by nightly visits to police stations to assist clients in custody.
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Employment outcry
At the risk of sounding like a liar - sorry, politician - charging fees for employment tribunals really would have a ‘chilling effect’ on access to justice. As a former Citizens Advice Bureau adviser who had begun to specialise in employment cases, I can report that ...
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Costly T&Cs
Further to BK Watkinson’s letter I have seen an expense tucked away in the small print of terms and conditions, charging a client on a conveyance a sum approaching £100 as a contribution to the solicitors’ legal indemnity insurance.
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Firms in revolt over CPS ‘paperless’ plan
The Crown Prosecution Service’s ambitious plan to go paperless by April could be in peril following a refusal by defence firms to engage with it. In a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the 30 largest criminal firms, accounting for over 10% of the ...
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Flexible working protocol launched
The Law Society has launched a flexible working protocol for legal firms, after research last year identified resistance to the practice is the ‘single most significant obstacle’ to women reaching senior roles. The protocol presents a clear business case for flexible working, including the retention of ...
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OPG defends spending on fruit and hand gel
The body charged with protecting the interests of the mentally incapacitated has defended itself against a blogger’s claim that it spends £26,000 a year on fresh fruit and anti-bacterial hand gel for its 500 staff. Claims of public sector extravagance were published by Susanne Cameron-Blackie, writing ...
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Mediation push for workplace disputes
The government is to press ahead with its strategy for resolving workplace disputes early, by diverting parties toward mediation and away from employment tribunals. A response to a consultation on resolving workplace disputes, issued jointly by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Courts ...
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Society defends in-house lawyers against EU ruling
The Law Society is to defend the status of in-house lawyers against a controversial Luxembourg ruling barring them from appearing as advocates before the European Union’s top court. The Society is to lodge an application to intervene in an appeal against a 2010 ruling by the ...
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ICAEW set to regulate ABSs
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has confirmed it is applying to become a licensing authority for alternative business structures.
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More solicitors make the bench
Solicitors outperformed barristers in two selection exercises for the judiciary completed earlier this year, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has revealed. Eleven solicitors and eight barristers were selected as district judges (magistrates’ court) and 14 solicitors and 11 barristers as lawyer chairmen of the Residential ...
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Legal Ombudsman eyes voluntary jurisdiction
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has launched a consultation on whether to introduce a voluntary complaints-handling scheme for unreserved work. Its latest business plan discusses the establishment of a ‘voluntary jurisdiction’ for areas of the legal market where providers currently outside its remit may want to offer customers access to redress ...
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US backs non-lawyer investment, but rejects ABSs
The US’s leading legal governance body has taken a step towards allowing non-lawyers to hold a financial stake in law firms, but is rejecting English-style alternative business structures.
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Solicitors to work ‘unpaid’ until committals abolished in April 2012
Committals in either way criminal cases will be abolished from April 2012, the justice secretary announced today. Kenneth Clarke said the change will be effected by bringing into force schedule 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 on a phased basis. The regions where it will ...
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Top 100 growing fast, Deloitte survey shows
The legal sector has been given a welcome boost after new figures showed a sharp rise in income among leading firms. The top 100 have reported an average revenue increase of nearly 10% for the second quarter ended 31 October. A survey by Deloitte showed that ...
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Charities reveal qualms about seeking legal advice
Charities understand little about the law but many are put off talking to a solicitor because of worries about cost, according to a major new study. The Legal Services Consumer Panel asked more than 800 small charities about their legal needs and experiences. Responses showed ...
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I didn’t forget defence solicitors, says lord chief justice
The lord chief justice has thanked defence solicitors for the ‘huge contribution’ made in the summer riot court cases, stressing that they had been included in his earlier praise of the rest of the legal profession. At his annual press conference at the Royal Courts of ...