QC status “should be extended” beyond barristers and solicitors – Legal Futures

‘QC status should be available to all advocates appearing in the higher courts, whether or not they are barristers or solicitors, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 18th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Third of domestic violence victims cannot provide evidence for legal aid – The Guardian

‘More than a third of victims of domestic violence cannot provide the evidence required to obtain legal aid, according to a parliamentary watchdog.’

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The Guardian, 12th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Default judgments soar as defences plummet – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The number of civil court judgments leapt by 25% last year as more claims went undefended, official statistics have revealed.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 9th March 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law in Tesco (not Tesco law) – The Future of Law

‘Family proceedings involving children where neither parent had legal representation, increased by 30% in the family court in 2013-14, revealed the National Audit Office last year in a report on legal aid.’

Full story

The Future of Law, 20th February 2015

Source: www.blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk

More bereaved families to get legal aid at inquests if state was involved in death – The Guardian

‘More bereaved families will be entitled to legal aid at inquests after a high court judge ruled that official guidance on whether to provide support was “misleading and inaccurate”.’

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The Guardian, 20th February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Commercial Court removes arbitrator over ‘justifiable doubts’ about his impartiality – OUT-LAW.com

‘An arbitrator who failed to disclose his “social and commercial relationships” with one of the parties to a commercial dispute has been removed from the post by a UK court.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th February 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Gratuitously rude’ judge reprimanded in CoA ruling – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A family judge was reprimanded by Court of Appeal judges twice in two days and told he should be “embarrassed” by the way he handled a case, it has emerged.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 6th February 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Children: Private Law Update (January 2015) – Family Law Week

‘Alex Verdan QC, of 4 Paper Buildings, reviews recent important judgments in private law children cases.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 28th January 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Patrick Curran jailed for life for murdering Joan Roddam – BBC News

‘A man with a fetish for older women has been jailed for life for the murder of a pensioner in her Cornwall home. Patrick Curran was 27 when he strangled 74-year-old widow Joan Roddam at her home in Delabole, in November 2003.’

Full story

BBC News, 27th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Finance & Divorce Update – Family Law Week

‘Jessica Craigs, senior solicitor of Mills & Reeve LLP analyses the financial remedies and divorce news and cases from December 2014.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 23rd January 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

High court upholds legal aid rules in domestic violence cases – The Guardian

‘Government regulations on access to legal aid for victims of domestic violence have been upheld by the high court.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

On-call solicitor plan adopted with ‘cavalier disregard for fairness’ – The Guardian

Posted January 20th, 2015 in criminal justice, law firms, legal representation, news, solicitors by sally

‘A theoretical business model adopted by the justice secretary to employ on-call solicitors was selected with “cavalier disregard” for fairness and real-world experience, the high court has heard.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Justice under threat’ as defendants face court alone due to legal aid cuts – The Independent

Posted January 20th, 2015 in criminal justice, legal aid, legal representation, litigants in person, news by sally

‘The principle of fair justice is being undermined by the growing number of criminal defendants forced to represent themselves in court, magistrates from across the country warn in a survey to be released today [19 January].’

Full story

The Independent, 19th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

MI6 forced to show how it may snoop on privileged lawyer-client exchanges – The Guardian

‘MI6 has been forced to reveal documents detailing how it may access legally privileged communications between solicitors and their clients, even if the lawyers are suing the government.’

Full story

The Guardian, 13th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Neither compassionate nor humane – Legal Aid Handbook

‘The first two reported cases of the year in the Family Court are both concerned with the difficulties litigants – not to mention practitioners, and the courts – are now faced with when trying to navigate the legal aid system. The first – about which we posted here – concerned an unrepresented father who couldn’t get legal aid despite needing to cross-examine a child who had accused him of abuse, leading to the court to order that he be funded outside the legal aid scheme.’

Full story

Legal Aid Handbook, 11th January 2015

Source: www.legalaidhandbook.com

Asking for relief – NearlyLegal

‘This is a housing case, but the procedural issue in this decision is only tangentially related to that. Nonetheless, it is a matter worth noting.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 10th January 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Parents’ legal aid wait to fight enforced adoption of son inhumane, says judge – The Guardian

Posted January 8th, 2015 in adoption, delay, learning difficulties, legal aid, legal representation, news by sally

‘A couple left in “agony” to fight against the enforced adoption of their three-year-old son could be forgiven for thinking they are trapped in a system which is “neither compassionate nor even humane,” the most senior family court judge in England and Wales has said.’

Full story

The Guardian, 7th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Law Society questions value of cab-rank rule – Legal Futures

Posted January 7th, 2015 in barristers, contracts, fees, Law Society, legal representation, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Law Society has responded to a Bar Standards Board (BSB) call for evidence on the cab-rank rule by questioning its “operational value”.’

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Legal Futures, 7th January 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Separate Representation of Children in Child Abduction Proceedings – Family Law Week

Posted January 7th, 2015 in appeals, child abduction, children, delay, legal representation, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Esther Lieu, barrister of 3PB Chambers, explores how the role of children has developed Hague Convention child abduction proceedings.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 6th January 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

How to make family hearings fair – UK Human Rights Blog

‘This case raises a very stark problem. A father wants to see his children aged 5 and 4. The mother has an elder daughter, Y, aged 17. Y told her teacher that the father sexually abused her. The truth or otherwise of this allegation is relevant to whether there should be contact between father and his children.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 5th January 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com