All News articles – Page 1669
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News
More police psychological training could prevent violence and riots
by Mike Finn, a former police officer with the Met and City of London Police, an expert witness and director of consultancy for Elite International The G20 demonstrations in 2009 raised a number of emotive issues concerning the use of force by officers. But how might ...
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Penology/criminology
False imprisonment – Measure of damages – Prison officers/strikes Prison Officers Association v Mohammed Nazim Iqbal: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury MR, Lady Justice Smith, Lord Justice Sullivan): 4 December 2009 ...
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Reform rules on migrants
I write with regard to the Immigration: Tier 1 Post Study Work Review and why successful students of the LPC and Bar Vocational Course should be granted Tier 1 Post Study Work (PSW) visas. See Immigration lawyers boost for top firms.
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Memory lane
A letter by a conveyancing lawyer from 1989. He asks if there is a life after conveyancying... Law Society’s Gazette, 6 December 1989 ...
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Hour of reckoning
Dick Jennings’ comments (see [2009] Gazette, 10 December, 11) supporting hourly fee charging miss two fundamental truths.
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HIP hijack
I share shadow housing minister Grant Shapps’s desire to abolish the home information pack. However, we must encourage the seller to instruct solicitors early in the selling process, which is still not happening despite the good intentions behind the HIP. Ideally the solicitor needs to get on with the ‘completion-ready’ ...
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Local government
Accidents – Duty of care – Economic loss (1) Geoffrey Glaister (2) Geraldine Glaister (3) Natalie Glaister v Appleby-in-Westmorland Town Council: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury MR, Lords Justice Jacob, Toulson): 9 December 2009 ...
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In good health
At last – some good news for the profession. Any readers who felt a little concerned on discovering that their work trousers were somewhat more difficult to put on this week than they were before Christmas – it must be a problem with the zip – can relax. It turns ...
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Law firms launch new support service for solicitors
Two law firms have joined forces to launch a new support service for solicitors experiencing regulatory, conduct, practice or business problems. The Lawyers Defence Group (LDG) has been set up by national firm Richard Nelson and London firm Murdochs to provide all lawyers – solicitors, barristers, ...
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LSB research reveals public ‘don’t know what lawyers do’
More than two-thirds of consumers have ‘little or no knowledge’ of what lawyers do, research published last week has revealed. A YouGov survey of 2,033 individuals commissioned by the Legal Services Board found that 68% were largely ignorant of what lawyers did. And less than half ...
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Solicitors predict number of divorces will rocket following surge in enquiries
Family solicitors reported a surge in divorce enquiries before Christmas and have predicted that the number of divorces will rocket in 2010, with January likely to be the busiest month. The rush comes as London firm Lloyd Platt & Co markets a new ‘divorce voucher’ scheme for separating couples. Mark ...
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Family confusion
James Carter (see [2009] Gazette, 17 December, 9) appears to have a rather different understanding than I about the way in which family cases, and public law proceedings in particular, are conducted.
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Courtroom confessions
Here at Obiter Towers, we admit to enjoying tales of lawyers’ gaffes and gaucheries; lawyers are only human after all (whatever the Daily Mail says). We were particularly impressed by the honesty of the Bar Council’s new biggest bigwig, Nick Green QC. He confessed to Obiter that on one occasion ...
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Wake up and smell the coffee
I am writing in response to recent letters from solicitors who either claim or imply that because their firms don’t pay referral fees they somehow have more integrity than firms that do.
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Local government: a feast of legislation and a claim of discrimination
For those who loved the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill, 12 November 2009 will have been an emotional day. It was then that, with one touch of the royal wand, the bill became an act of parliament.
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Charging orders and their impact on creditors and debtors
Section 1(5) of the Charging Orders Act 1979 provides as follows: ‘In deciding whether to make a charging order the court shall consider all the circumstances of the case and, in particular, any evidence before it as to (a) the personal circumstances of the debtor, and (b) whether any other ...
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With divorce enquiries on the rise, is it time to change the rules?
As marriage rates have fallen in recent years, divorce rates have also gone down, but family solicitors reported a massive surge in divorce enquiries from clients in the run up to Christmas and predicted the number of petitions will soar in 2010.
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Last chance for the high street?
Stephen Hanson complains that he was given work no one else could be bothered with and was made redundant in favour of an unqualified conveyancing clerk. In the same edition, John Gurney-Champion says he runs a profitable practice without paying referral fees. The contents of these letters are very closely ...
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When it comes to paying bribes, can the end justify the means?
The biggest reforms to the law of bribery for more than a century will come under detailed scrutiny today as the government’s Bribery Bill begins its committee stage in the House of Lords. You would expect a bill of this sort to criminalise both the person ...