Law Society research confirms London is most attractive centre for commercial litigation and international arbitration
By Gazette Reporter >> (30 October 2023) London is still the most attractive centre for commercial litigation and international arbitration, outperforming other global dispute resolution hubs, the Law Society confirms in a new report published today. The report on the global position of English law finds that the London Commercial Court is the leading centre for international […]
King’s speech announces legislation on criminal sentencing and leasehold reform
By Gazette newsdesk >> (7 November 2023) As widely trailed to the national media, reforms to criminal sentencing and the leasehold system feature heavily in the government’s legislative programme in the runup to the general election expected in autumn 2024. Measures announced in the king’s speech today include: The king’s speech also announced legislation to make […]
Criminal court backlog hits record high of almost 65,000 cases
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (29 September 2023) The Crown court backlog has reached a record high, according to alarming new data released by the Ministry of Justice. Criminal court statistics for April to June, published yesterday, reveal 64,709 outstanding cases in the Crown court – a 4% increase on the previous quarter and the highest backlog […]
SQE2 pass rate up – but ethnic attainment gap continues to yawn
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (23 August 2023) Latest results for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination show that ethnic disparities in pass rates remain stubbornly intractable – in a process that was designed to boost diversity. Exam results for 996 candidates who sat SQE2 in April were released yesterday. SQE2, which also tests practical skills, is marked using […]
New coalition seeks to drive e-conveyancing
By Michael Cross >> (3 August 2023) More than 20 years after ‘e-conveyancing’ was enabled in law, a coalition of legal, government and business groups has been set up in the latest attempt to make it reality. The Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) will represent legal professional bodies – including the Law Society – government […]
Civil legal aid wait to continue into New Year
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (21 December 2022) Details of a major civil legal aid review will be announced in January, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed – more than two months after telling the Gazette that an announcement was imminent. The Legal Aid Agency quietly revealed at the beginning of October that a major review was in the pipeline […]
Staff grievances surge at Ministry of Justice
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (12 December 2022) The number of grievances raised by Ministry of Justice staff has shot up after falling during the pandemic, government figures reveal. According to data released last week, 1,078 staff raised grievances in the Ministry of Justice during the 2021/22 financial year – up from 839 in 2020/21. Justice […]
Law schools ‘not immune from student class action’
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (30 November 2022) A multi-million-pound group legal action against universities over Covid and strike disruption could extend to law schools, the Gazette has learned – as the number of law students joining the claim approaches 3,000. More than 30,000 students across England and Wales have joined the ‘Student Group Claim’ seeking compensation from […]
Judges to be trained on appropriate behaviour, LCJ reveals
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (9 November 2022) Judges will be trained on how to avoid inadvertent inappropriate behaviour with colleagues, the lord chief justice has revealed – after research that he commissioned uncovered examples of bullying, harassment or discrimination. Lord Burnett of Maldon told the House of Commons justice select committee yesterday that judges were […]
Government ‘must prioritise’ Mental Health Act reform
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (31 October 2022) The Law Society has urged the government to make Mental Health Act reforms a priority after latest NHS statistics revealed a black person is four times more likely to be detained under the act than a white person. Between April 2021 and March 2022, people were detained 53,337 […]
