All News articles – Page 1637
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News
Malaysian Human Rights Commission criticises treatment of lawyers
The Law Society has welcomed a report by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission published today which finds that the arrest of five legal aid lawyers last year was unlawful. The lawyers were called to the police station to represent clients who had been arrested for attending ...
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State of the unions
Unlike my old classmate Chris Cox, director of legal services at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), I was delighted with the president’s response to the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations (DBAs) (see [2010] Gazette, 15 April, 11). At last there was official recognition of the true position of the unions on ...
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Keep on running
Sedentary Obiter doffs a cap to Jeffrey Gordon, a 76-year-old criminal defence solicitor from Battersea who is set to run the London Marathon for the 30th time this year. Gordon is one of a group of indefatigable runners known as the ‘ever presents’ who have completed the event every year ...
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Quinn to re-enter UK insurance market
Quinn Insurance has been given permission for a limited re-entry into the UK insurance market following an announcement by the Irish Financial Regulator yesterday. However, the relaxation of the regulator’s restrictions preventing Quinn from writing new business in the UK does not extend to solicitors’ professional ...
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No pain no gain
There is such a thing as a glutton for punishment, and it seems that is what the Legal Services Commission must be.
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Playing with fire
Solicitors are notably risk averse and can be relied on, in Obiter’s long experience, to spot a dozen dire threats where others see only tranquility. And yet just last week this column witnessed a roomful of the profession’s finest demonstrate unblinking insouciance in the face of near certain incineration. The ...
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Family law
Cafcass – Children – Contract orders – Removal from jurisdiction Re D (a child): CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Wall, Aikens): 8 April 2010 The appellant father (F) appealed ...
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The sour smell of failure
As prosecutors and defence lawyers know only too well, criminals can be pretty, well, gormless is the word – or the ones who get caught can be, at any rate. Obiter has spotted a wealth of stories about foolish offenders recently. There was 68-year-old John Maurice, who was sentenced last ...
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Recession makes the trainee jobs market tougher than ever
The recession has made the trainee jobs market tougher than ever, with more than a third of graduates expecting to work more than 50 hours a week and almost 40% forced to look for jobs outside law, according to research published today.
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Scottish solicitors reject ‘Tesco law’ – and raise fears of flight to England
The likelihood of Scotland’s ‘big four’ law firms defecting to England appears to have risen this afternoon, following a landmark vote against the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs) north of the border. At a special general meeting of the Law Society of Scotland, members voted ...
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Slithery customer
Obiter is grateful to professor Phil Thomas of Cardiff Law School for sending in a news snippet from the Hindu English language newspaper in India. A four-foot snake slithered into a judge’s chambers last month, and had to be ‘rescued’ by Fire and ...
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Higher court
Obiter was tickled to receive this picture issued by the Press Association of Sir John Dyson, who was sworn in as the 12th and final justice of the new Supreme Court this week. Is it just us, or does it look for all ...
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Co-op in new drive to promote legal services to food shoppers
The Co-operative Group is planning a new campaign to promote its legal services to food shoppers in its 3,000 supermarkets nationwide. The news came as the group, which aims to be one of the first alternative business structures, told the Gazette that it believes ‘the die ...
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Civil procedure
Employment – Transport – Balance of convenience – Industrial action Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd v National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers: QBD (Mrs Justice Sharp): 1 April 2010 ...
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Solicitor concerns over ‘chaotic’ DSCC handover
The ‘chaotic’ handover to the new operator of the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) may have left detainees unrepresented and caused firms to lose work, criminal solicitors have warned. On 1 April Ventura, one of the biggest call centre operators, took over the running of the ...
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Judicial mediation in Employment Tribunal cases falls short
Mediation provided by judges in Employment Tribunal cases has failed to achieve the anticipated time and cost savings over unmediated cases, the results of a pilot scheme have revealed. The Ministry of Justice piloted a judicial mediation service for Employment Tribunal discrimination cases which started between ...
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Local government legal departments braced for cuts
Local government legal departments are braced for a double whammy of budget cuts and an increase in workload, exclusive research for the Gazette has revealed. The study also found that 61% of departments are considering reducing their use of external advisers. The ...
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New brand to promote barristers’ services direct to the public
A new brand to promote barristers’ services directly to the public is due to launch this summer, the Gazette has learned. Ian Dodd, director of virtual chambers BarFutures, plans to launch the National Advocacy Network, aimed at promoting public access to the bar.
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How to deal with problem employees and avoid tribunals
Employment laws change so frequently that if you tried to keep on top of them, you would probably go out of business. Or die miserably...