Solicitor engaged in ‘pathological’ litigation handed civil restraint order – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 10th, 2022 in civil justice, injunctions, law firms, news, solicitors, vexatious litigants by tracey

‘A law firm has been barred by the High Court from making any further court applications for at least 18 months after failing to heed warnings to stop.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 7th October 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Government to launch review of civil legal aid sustainability – Legal Futures

Posted October 6th, 2022 in civil justice, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The government is to launch a review of civil legal aid in the coming weeks, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed.’

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Legal Futures, 4th October 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Time taken to get civil cases to trial reaches all-time high – Legal Futures

‘The time between issue and trial for fast- and multi-track claims has hit 75 weeks, the longest this century, according to government figures published yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd September 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Claim against solicitors was attempt to relitigate private prosecution – Legal Futures

‘A professional negligence claim against a firm of solicitors in the North-East has been thrown out as an attempt to relitigate an unsuccessful private prosecution.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd August 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Domestic abusers barred from cross-examining victims in family and civil courts – Ministry of Justice

‘Victims of domestic abuse can be spared from being cross-examined by their alleged attackers in family and civil courts under measures coming into force today (21 July 2022).’

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Ministry of Justice, 21st July 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

News focus: CJC forum brainstorms costs reform – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 18th, 2022 in civil justice, costs, news by tracey

‘Costs lawyers convened at the Civil Justice Council last week to discuss another overhaul. Delegates offered robust opinions, but there was little consensus.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 18th July 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

No diplomatic immunity in modern slavery cases, Supreme Court rules – BBC News

‘The UK Supreme Court has ruled that diplomats cannot hide behind immunity to exploit workers, in a victory for campaigners against modern slavery.’

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BBC News, 7th July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New Judgment: Basfar v Wong [2022] UKSC 20 – UKSC Blog

‘The Appellant (a national of the Philippines) is a migrant domestic worker who worked in the household of the Respondent, a diplomat representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the United Kingdom. Ms Wong claims to be a victim of human trafficking who was forced to work for Mr Basfar and his family in circumstances of modern slavery after they brought her with them to the UK in August 2016.’

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UKSC Blog, 6th July 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Civil Justice Council kicks off ‘holistic’ review of costs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 4th, 2022 in civil justice, consultations, costs, news by tracey

‘The Civil Justice Council has set in motion a possible shake-up of the civil costs regime with the start of a wide-ranging consultation. The judicial-led group will look at the key areas of costs budgeting, guideline hourly rates, the impact of digitisation and portals, and the consequences of the extension of fixed recoverable costs.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 1st July 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

CJC begins process for major reform of costs regime – Legal Futures

Posted July 1st, 2022 in civil justice, consultations, costs, news by tracey

‘A rethought costs system that puts digitisation, vulnerable court users and a properly functioning civil justice system at its heart is the goal of a Civil Justice Council (CJC) working party, which yesterday began consulting on four key areas for possible reform.’

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Legal Futures, 1st July 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Online rule committee will be catalyst for digital justice, says Birss – Legal Futures

‘The work of the new Online Procedure Rules Committee (OPRC) will help connect the whiplash portal and other pre-action regimes to the court system electronically, the deputy head of civil justice has said.’

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Legal Futures, 9th June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Senior judges back push to move High Court cases to the regions – Legal Futures

Posted May 31st, 2022 in choice of forum, civil justice, lists, news by sally

‘The High Court has transferred another case from London to Leeds at the same time as senior judges emphasised that the location of the lawyers is not a trump card in determining venue.’

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Legal Futures, 31st May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Make legal advice available at GP surgeries and libraries, says think tank – Legal Futures

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in civil justice, doctors, legal advice, libraries, local government, news by sally

‘Making legal advice available at GP surgeries, council offices, libraries and other convenient locations can help more people get more “timely” access to civil justice, according to a think tank report published today.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Wagatha Christie’ puts England’s legal system on trial in the social media age – The Guardian

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in civil justice, defamation, internet, media, news by sally

‘People poke fun at the lawyers, but there are serious concerns about how the law deals with everyone being a publisher.’

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The Guardian, 20th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Appeal court deprecates “act of deliberate concealment” by party – Legal Futures

Posted May 11th, 2022 in appeals, civil justice, disclosure, intellectual property, news, trade marks by sally

‘Civil litigation should be conducted “with cards on the table – face up” and the courts should not “sanction an act of deliberate concealment” by one of the parties, appeal judges have ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 10th May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Rape victims failed by UK criminal courts are being forced to seek justice elsewhere – The Guardian

Posted April 19th, 2022 in civil justice, damages, news, private prosecutions, prosecutions, rape, victims by sally

‘With prosecutions at an all-time low, some women are turning to civil courts – but the process can be difficult and expensive.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal aid work “close to being unsustainable”, new campaign warns – Legal Futures

‘A new campaign for increased legal aid funding has been launched after the findings of a unique census showed the market will not be sustainable without more government action.’

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Legal Futures, 31st March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Peers call for national body to regulate use of AI in justice system – Legal Futures

‘Peers have called for the creation of a new national body to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the justice system and elsewhere in the public sector.’

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Legal Futures, 30th March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Speech by the Lord Chief Justice: Blackstone Lecture 2022 – Court and Tribunals Judiciary

‘The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has delivered the Blackstone Lecture 2022 at Pembroke College in Oxford. Lord Burnett of Maldon gave a speech entitled The hidden value of the Rule of Law and English Law.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 11th February 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Raising a criminal case in the civil courts – St John’s Chambers

‘Allegations of criminal behaviour are normally tried in the criminal courts. But where a crime is either not prosecuted, or cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt, the question may end up being tried in a civil court, even where the allegation is as serious as it could be, such as murder. This may cause difficulties where the evidence relied upon has been obtained by a third party, such as a police force whether in England or abroad, and the claimant is not in a position to give a detailed account of the allegation until that evidence is available.’

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St John's Chambers, 1st February 2022

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk