All News articles – Page 1341
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News
Labour conference: Khan he deliver the goods?
The centrepiece of Labour’s conference, as with any party conference, was the leader’s speech. In Manchester Ed Miliband’s hour-long noteless oration went down well with the press on performance, but it was noticeably lacking on the minor detail of policy. I seemed to spend my ...
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Defining violence needs government commitment
by Baroness Scotland QC, former attorney general for England and Wales Domestic violence does not have a statutory definition in England and Wales. Since 2004, government departments, the Crown Prosecution Service and the police have instead adopted a working definition of domestic violence.
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Diversity checks
I was disappointed at the approach taken in your article of 21 September entitled ‘SRA planning surprise diversity swoops’ on our latest thematic supervision pilot on equality and diversity compliance.
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South Korea opens billion-pound legal market
A new multi-billion pound legal market has opened for firms following the Republic of Korea’s decision to liberalise the rules around who can practise law in the country. Korean Bar Association vice-president Lee Byung-Joo (pictured) told the Gazette this week that Korea’s situation between Tokyo and ...
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Public authorities and datasets
The past few months have seen a number of developments in Freedom of Information law. In May, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced changes that will be made to the information public authorities will need to release proactively as part of their Publication Scheme (under ...
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‘Phenomenal growth’ in power of attorney registrations
Lasting powers of attorney (LPA) registrations have more than trebled over the past three years to reach 210,000 a year – a £42m market for solicitors, the Public Guardian revealed this week.
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UN call for ‘gender approach’ to bench
Countries worldwide should adopt a ‘gender-oriented approach’ to ensure women have the same rights and opportunities as men to hold high judicial office, the UN’s human rights council special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers told the Gazette this week.
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Novel approach
The irresistible combination of culture, charity and immigration law was enough to send Obiter hotfooting it across London last week to hear novelist Marina Lewycka (pictured) reading excerpts from her latest book, Various Pets Alive and Dead. Author of the improbably named bestseller A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, ...
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Legal aid delays
I have read the comments of Gareth Roberts about delays in payments of fees by the Legal Services Commission and the letter to the Gazette by Helen Riley calling his comments into question.
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Politicians who are willing to talk about justice are vanishingly rare
The theme of ‘fairness’ is running like a thread through political speeches this autumn. Variants on ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’ featured large in deputy prime minister Nick Clegg’s speech to his party’s conference. Ever the competitive type, shadow chancellor Ed Balls, addressing Labour this week, used the words twice as often ...
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IBA 2012: former president of American bar dismisses 'risky' ABS model
The immediate past-president of the American Bar Association has strongly denounced alternative business structures, arguing that non-lawyer investment in law firms compromises the client's best interests and undermines professional independence. William T (Bill) Robinson III gave the strongest indication yet that the US will ...
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IBA 2012: 'banker to the poor' calls for company law rethink
Nobel Peace laureate and anti-poverty campaigner Professor Muhammad Yunus today called for a fundamental rethink of company law in order to help the world's poor. The Bangladeshi banker and former economics professor wants to see a relaxation of the obligation on public company directors to ...
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Squatting made a criminal offence
Historically if a property owner or occupier was not able to 'persuade' squatters to leave residential property the property owner or occupier was only able to use one of two legal processes to evict a squatter from residential property: ...
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Saga targets confused legal consumers
Over-50s holiday specialist Saga said it would target clients ‘bamboozled’ by jargon as it became the second consumer brand name to enter the legal services market. Roger Ramsden, chief executive of Saga Services, said: ‘People want legal advice and products at a price they understand, ...
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Justice names new chief
Campaign group Justice has appointed human rights lawyer Andrea Coomber (pictured) as its new director. Coomber, currently legal director of the international human rights organisation Interights, replaces Roger Smith. Smith announced his decision to step down in May after 11 years in the post. ...
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Khan: we’ll be tough on the causes of reoffending
A women’s justice board and a minister to tackle offenders’ mental health problems would be among a Labour government’s plans to fight crime and open a ‘war on reoffending’, the shadow justice secretary told the Labour party conference today.
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Banks agree new protocol for estate administration
New rules for the exchange of information between banks and solicitors administering an estate have been agreed by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the Law Society and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
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We’re keeping our options open, says ABS applicant AA
Breakdown recovery and insurance business AA has insisted it is merely ‘keeping its options open’ by applying for an alternative business structure licence. The company today confirmed it has applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority with a view to providing legal services in the future. It ...
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IBA 2012: inside the bubble
At the risk of appearing graceless to my host, I can't help wondering if the International Bar Association ought to be more important than it is. After all, the world's biggest organisation of international bars and legal practitioners has this week convened what is thought to be the biggest gathering ...
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No turning back on cuts under Labour, says Khan
A future Labour government will not increase funding for criminal justice, the shadow justice secretary said today, but will look to promote ‘more effective and less expensive’ alternatives to custody and price-competitive tendering for criminal defence services.