Judge blasts MoJ’s ‘systemic failure’ over Crown court backlog
By Catherine Baksi >> (9 September 2020) Crown court judge has accused the government of ‘systemic failure’ for not conducting trials in a reasonable time. Judge Keith Raynor, at Woolwich Crown Court, refused to further extend the custody time limit for a teenager who had been held in prison waiting for his trial for 321 days. […]
Don’t break quarantine to go to court – Law Society
By Jemma Slingo >> (21 August 2020) Lawyers should not be permitted to break quarantine to go to court, the Law Society warned today, saying the waiver ‘puts lives at risk’. Earlier this week the Bar Council announced that ‘after significant lobbying’ the goverment has confirmed that barristers, solicitors and other court users returning from […]
Solicitor super-exam to cost £3,980
By Jemma Slingo >> (30 July 2020) Students will pay £3,980 to sit the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam, the regulator has announced, in a drive to make entry to the profession more accessible. SQE1 – a multiple choice legal knowledge test – will cost £1,558, while SQE 2 will cost £2,422 for written and oral […]
MoJ starts compensating part-time judges denied pensions
By Gazette Reporter >> (23 December 2019) Following a 14-year legal battle, the Ministry of Justice has begun compensating judicial part-timers who lost out when they were denied pensions. Interim payments to eligible claimants are now being made pending the introduction of a statutory remedy, the department said in an update today. The longstanding O’Brien […]
News focus: Key questions remain as new AML regime looms
By Michael Cross >> (2 December 2019) -NEWS FOCUS- With new directives coming into force and little guidance for firms on compliance, even anti-money laundering experts are struggling to stay on top, as a Law Society conference heard last week. Not an empty seat was to be found at the Law Society’s 2019 Anti-money Laundering […]
Brexit and migrant staff
By Laura Devine (13 November 2019) In September, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development published a report which found that 56% of employers surveyed did not believe they had sufficient information to devise post-Brexit hiring strategies. Indeed, 58% stated that they had either never heard of the government’s immigration white paper or had heard […]
Claimant and defendant sides fail to agree clin neg fixed costs levels
By John Hyde >> (24 October 2019) A working group set up to explore the feasibility of fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence has found claimant and defendant factions unable to agree on several key issues. In a report published by the Civil Justice Council, the group said both sides ‘came close’ to agreeing fixed […]
First probate registry closes as application delays drag on
By: Jemma Slingo >> (27 August 2019) The first probate register office to shut under the £1bn courts reform programme will close its doors next week, the government has announced – to the fury of solicitors already waiting months for grants of probate. The Law Society said it will continue to challenge the closure. Under […]
Supreme Court ruling grants public access to court documents
By John Hyde >> (29 July 2019) The Supreme Court today ruled that the public should be allowed access to all documents placed before the court and referred to during a hearing – but only if applicants can show why they need them. In Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring (for and on behalf of Asbestos […]
Courts to consider wider consequences of arson and criminal damage
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (5 July 2019) Courts are expected to get tougher on people who vandalise listed buildings, start a fire at a school or cause criminal damage at a train station under guidelines unveiled today. The Sentencing Council says its arson guidelines, which come into force in October, acknowledge that harm can include […]
