![David Lester (senior partner at Blythe Liggins), Darryl Barnes, Jagdeep Sandher (head of dispute resolution at Blythe Liggins)[4]](https://d1d8vslyhr7rdg.cloudfront.net/Pictures/274x183/4/2/8/116428_davidlesterseniorpartneratblytheligginsdarrylbarnesjagdeepsandherheadofdisputeresolutionatblytheliggins4_981603_crop.jpg)
Melanie Newman
FeatureUrban outfitters
Pandemic lockdowns wrought changes to our town and city centres that appear permanent. Lawyers have a critical role in helping to reconfigure our urban landscape, reports Melanie Newman
FeatureA fair cop
A court that deals with fundamental questions of human autonomy is becoming less risk-averse despite being thrust into the public eye. Melanie Newman reports.
FeatureSea changes
For all her tough talk of ‘turning back the boats’, are many of home secretary Priti Patel’s asylum reforms simply an exercise in political posturing? There are no easy answers, reports Melanie Newman.
FeatureTalking pictures
Are online hearings prone to abuse, or have we just not adapted properly yet? Melanie Newman reports on different family justice experiences.
NewsOpen judicial training to FoI scrutiny, tribunal urged
Judicial College is not currently subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
FeatureCritical condition
Councils have cut support for law centres and increased rents, threatening their survival just when people need their services most.
FeatureBattle fatigue
What has the pandemic done to medical negligence and prospects for reform? Melanie Newman reports.
FeatureDamage limitation
For legal services, the UK’s Brexit deal was better than expected, but still leaves a great deal to be desired – and lobbied for.
FeatureTaking the rap: crime
In a dysfunctional and cash-strapped criminal justice system, are sentencing discounts for a guilty plea leading to miscarriages of justice?
FeatureGazette special investigation: Hate crimes
In a special investigation for the Gazette, Melanie Newman reveals that hate crime laws are heavily used by police forces for offences against their own officers. Has the right balance been struck in this important area?
FeatureYouth must be served
Concerns abound at the quality of justice dispensed by the youth courts – the operation of which shocks even hardened defence lawyers.
FeatureCold, hard cash
HMRC’s ‘blended approach’ to tackling tax evasion and money laundering is getting results, reports Melanie Newman. But is it encroaching on people’s rights?
FeatureWhen rights came home
With another lord chancellor gunning for the 20-year-old Human Rights Act, how do lawyers evaluate its legacy? Melanie Newman reports.
FeatureHow to: make legal aid work
Firms and solicitors continue to quit legal aid. But what to do if you want to stick with it? Melanie Newman reports
FeatureLabour pains
New employment tribunals president Barry Clarke wants the system’s reputation to emerge from the crisis enhanced. It’s a tough ask, hears Melanie Newman.
FeatureTaken to the brink
As we await the Ministry of Justice’s annual report, Melanie Newman canvasses practitioners about how the department is performing.
NewsRape case review to hear evidence of CPS policy shift
Critics cite evidence allegedly contradicting CPS’s denial that it changed policy on rape cases.
FeatureGoing mobile
The legal profession appears to be doing a lot to foster social mobility, using data-driven recruitment methods and helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter the law. But is all this work making a real difference, or is it just burnishing the image of the biggest firms?
FeatureCrash test
Covid-19 has prompted unprecedented collaboration between personal injury claimant lawyers and the insurance sector. Could this new spirit of co-operation survive the pandemic?
FeatureAn uphill battle
Global efforts to achieve equality for women at the top of the legal profession are struggling to get results. Melanie Newman finds out what is going wrong – and what is working.