All News articles – Page 1783
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News
The enema of reason
And still they come, those legal typos. Some bring tears to our eyes, for more reasons than one. Sarah O’Leary of Dobson Solicitors recalls a brief to counsel on a rape case referring to a client undergoing a ‘penile swap’ at the police station. ‘Politicians might see this as an ...
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Employment
Employees – Racism – Suspension from work – Unfounded allegations of racist abuse Centrewest London Buses Ltd v Ukachukwu: CA (Civ Div) (Sir Anthony Clarke, Master of the Rolls, Lords Justice Maurice Kay, Stanley Burnton): 8 October 2008 ...
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How to earn your green spurs
In the A-Z of Global Warming, personal injury lawyer Simon Rosser has written a compact and useful guide, making the complexities of climate change more accessible to the lay person. The book is aimed at the reader who is aware of climate change as an issue, ...
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Economic downturn impacts Welsh firms
Law firms in Wales, from big commercial firms to rural high street practices, are waiting to see just how they will be affected by the turmoil afflicting the wider UK economy. ‘No one is immune to what is happening but there aren’t the extremes here,’ says Alan Meredith, senior partner ...
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Shipping investments and electrical developments
Dubai listing: National firm Pinsent Masons advised China Security & Surveillance Technology on the secondary listing of its shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange – believed to be the first listing of a Chinese company in the Middle East. ...
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Dead funny show
Who said the death penalty wasn’t funny? Trained solicitor and Irish comic Keith Farnan will be telling some dead funny jokes as part of his one-man comedy act about the death penalty. In Cruel and Unusual, Farnan’s stand-up show tells his story from law school in ...
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SAL takes a dim view of Diwali date clash
Oh dear. In a worthy bid to promote equality and diversity in the profession, the Bar Council South East Circuit (SEC) intended to hold an event called ‘Against the Odds’ on 28 October. Good stuff, except for one small detail: no one noticed that the date clashed with Diwali. ...
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China defence lawyers still face hostility
China’s defence lawyers still suffer violence, threats and arbitrary detention despite the country’s progress in embracing the rule of law, a Human Rights Watch researcher has warned. Nicholas Bequelin, speaking at the Law Society last week, said there is no room for a legal system independent ...
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Concern mounts over justice budget cuts
The Law Society has entered the row over revelations that the government may be planning swingeing budget cuts to the justice system. President Paul Marsh voiced fears over the future of the Courts Service and warned justice secretary Jack Straw that legal aid is ‘already ...
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The bigger they are - the harder they fall?
A Law Society review of solicitor regulation is both timely and welcome.
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Let the Hunt begin
Rare opportunity for grassroots lawyers to make their voices heard. Few subjects in the Gazette’s ambit generate such impassioned opinions as regulation. Every week our postbag is guaranteed to contain numerous missives from lawyers taking a swipe at the Solicitors Regulation Authority and/or Legal Complaints Service. ...
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Judge intervenes as VHCC barristers' row rocks trial
A judge has stepped in to try to prevent a trial being derailed by the row over barristers’ refusal to do very high cost criminal cases (VHCC). Several defendants in a case listed for trial at Oxford Crown Court early next year have been unable to ...
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Regulation: 'There are no "no-go" areas' - Lord Hunt
Lord Hunt of Wirral has stressed that he has a ‘completely open mind’ on the likely outcome of his profession-wide review of regulation. The former cabinet minister, solicitor David Hunt, said he had agreed his own terms of reference for the exercise, which was commissioned by the Law Society. ...
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Arbitration guidelines
Simpler, cheaper, quicker – cross-border arbitrators are working with new guidelines from the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. The American Arbitration Association (AAA), through its international arm, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), issued new guidelines to arbitrators this year, effective from May 31. They ...
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Arbitration
Conflict of laws – Insolvency – Applicable law – Arbitration agreements – EC law (1) Josef Syska acting as the administrator of Elektrim SA (in bankruptcy) (2) Elektrim SA (in bankruptcy) v (1) Vivendi Universal SA (2) Vivendi ...
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Turnout looks to be low for Law Society's 'afiliate' ballot
Turnout for a Law Society ballot to create a new ‘affiliate’ category has been low, anecdotal evidence suggests. The postal ballot closes tomorrow. Affiliate status would be open to certain categories of non-solicitors working in the legal services market. Past President ...
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Thistle be the youngest advocate yet
They are getting younger. Since May 2008 Morgan Rees at West Midlands firm Bell Lax has been proud to bear the title of the youngest solicitor-advocate (see [2008] Gazette, 8 May, 8). He gained his higher rights aged 24 years and 297 days. However, his claim to fame has been ...
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A hard act to follow
Lord Bingham was the perfect person to address the recent Conference of World City Bar Leaders.
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'Conflicts' cost accident victims dear
Lax regulation and ‘systemic conflicts of interest’ have deprived motor accident victims of legal advice and encouraged them to accept reduced compensation from insurers, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) alleged this week. APIL’s chief executive Denise Kitchener described as ‘institutionalised’ the practice of third-party ...
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Criminal: trials in absence, youth crime, hearsay
Where a defendant fails to appear for trial and the judge is sure that he has deliberately absented himself, it is necessary to proceed in the defendant’s absence (R v Anthony Jones [2003] 1 AC1).