All News articles – Page 1279
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News
Wrong reforms
As a junior solicitor (and non-practising barrister) it is sad that I, along with many of my colleagues, have said goodbye to publicly funded work. The law school ideal of helping those in need could not be further from the truth. In a recent care case ...
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Leveson: overview
2010 was full of vociferous comment on the libel reform campaign; 2011 gave us Ryan Giggs and ‘superinjunction spring’. And 2012 provided the finer detail of the phone-hacking scandal and the resulting Leveson Inquiry. Anyone browsing the array of domestic newspapers over the last few years would be forgiven for ...
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Leveson: the press
The current state of play post-publication of the Leveson Report can only be described as an unsatisfactory stalemate. When Lord Justice Leveson published his recommendation that newspapers should operate a system of independent self-regulation, he surely cannot have envisaged the political turmoil, in-fighting and secret backdoor deals that have resulted. ...
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Leveson: private practice
The proposed new scheme of press regulation agreed by the main political parties and encapsulated in a Royal Charter includes an arbitration arm as part of the new body. Leveson was keen to ensure that people of all means had access to justice under the new regime and not just ...
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LETR may be ‘outdated’, warns Savage
The much-delayed Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) could be ‘obsolete and outdated’ even before it is published, according to the University of Law’s chief executive Nigel Savage.
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Memory lane
The Law Society’s Gazette, April 1953Legal Aid Scheme In my view it is high time that the Society pressed for the introduction of a new system of remuneration for solicitors in contentious matters. The existing scales are out of date and bear no relation either to ...
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Judicial review
Public authority – Claimant religious organisation seeking to place advert bearing anti-gay message on London buses Core Issues Trust v Transport for London: Queen's Bench Division, Administrative Court (London): 22 March 2013 ...
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The problem with the language judges use
‘Hey-ho the witch is dead.’ This isn’t a piece about Margaret Thatcher’s life or death. But as with a handful of court cases from the past year, I’m struck by the language used – that, and the fact it often passes without comment. ...
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In-house practitioners warm to mediation
In-house lawyers are becoming more confident about mediation without assistance from external firms and three-quarters expect their use of mediation to grow in the next three years, according to a leading dispute resolution group. A survey by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) showed that of 50 respondents, 42% ...
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Immigration
Deportation – Decision to deport – Claimant being regarded as high-risk terrorist Othman (aka Abu Qatada) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Court of Appeal, Civil Division: 27 March 2013 ...
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A good thing?
In the last edition of the Gazette (25 March) the Law Society announced that it had managed to secure a postponement on the abolition of the recoverability of success fees and insurance premiums in insolvency cases until 2015.
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Rise in small-claims limit may be good for litigants
When it comes to the small-claims court, all the focus seems to have been on personal injury.
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A just god?
Richard Dawkins would make short work of Jonathan Goldsmith’s musings on religion and science (25 March), ruthlessly dismissing the idea that justice exists beyond us as an ‘eternal lamp’. If science is the ultimate explanation, then justice, exactly like law, is a rapidly changing artificial human construct, determined like everything ...
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Matchmaking sites go live
Two new online matchmaking services for legal professionals claim to offer tickets to survival. Springboard.net is described as a LinkedIn-style social network for solicitors. Its founders say it allows members to tap into a national network of new business opportunities, control and manage ...
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Hold the front page
In case you didn’t notice, April Fools’ Day brought something special to the mass media this year. The news famine generated by a four-day holiday pulled the topic of civil legal policy from the dusty corners of the classified ad sections to the dazzling sunlight ...
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SRA Handbook in force
The seventh version of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Handbook comes in to force this week. Changes include outcomes dealing with the ban on referral fees in personal injury cases, and the removal of rules put forward in the first phase of the SRA’s Red Tape Initiative. ...
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More firms using unrated insurers for PII
The proportion of law firms relying on an unrated insurer for professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover almost doubled last year, a new survey has revealed. Around 16% of cash-strapped practices – including almost a quarter of sole practitioners – ignored warnings about unrated insurers as they ...
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Insurance giants in law firm ventures
Insurance giant Admiral is poised this week to move into legal services through a joint venture with national firm Lyons Davidson. The partnership – set to be announced as the Gazette went to press – is the most significant of a spate of tie-ups between insurers ...
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Fall in solicitor prosecutions
The number of prosecutions opened against solicitors fell dramatically in the first quarter of 2013. The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Legal & Enforcement division issued just 17 Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal cases in the first three months of this year, compared ...