Family lawyers suffering from job insecurity and stress, survey finds – Legal Futures

‘Only half of family law professionals feel secure in their jobs right now, while a quarter are actively considering leaving the profession due to wellbeing concerns, major research has found.’

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Family Law, 21st May 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Windrush victims not compensated quickly enough, report finds – The Guardian

‘The Home Office has failed to compensate victims of the Windrush scandal quickly enough, a critical National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the compensation scheme has found.’

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The Guardian, 21st May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police and prosecutors must focus on actions of alleged rapists not victims, new guidance says – The Independent

‘Police and prosecutors are to place greater focus on the actions of alleged rapists rather than their victims, after charges hit a record low. New legal guidance published by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says investigators must use an “offender-centric” approach and look closely at the actions of suspects before, during and after reported attacks.’

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The Independent, 21st May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Disclosure pilot scheme still unfit for purpose, most lawyers say – Litigation Futures

Posted May 19th, 2021 in disclosure, news, pilot schemes, solicitors, statistics by sally

‘Seven in 10 lawyers consider the disclosure pilot scheme unfit for purpose, with many believing it has exacerbated the adversarial environment, new research has found.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th May 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Mental health tests in the presence of counter-terror units ‘unethical’, says charity – The Guardian

‘Mental health assessments are being conducted in the presence of police in little-known hubs that embed nurses and psychologists with counter-terrorism units, raising “serious ethical concerns”, a medical charity has said.’

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The Guardian, 19th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rape victims in England and Wales to give video evidence to boost convictions – The Guardian

‘Rape victims in England and Wales will be able to provide their evidence on video prior to a trial to help improve conviction rates, it is understood.’

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The Guardian, 17th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Torture victims kept in solitary by Home Office for up to a year – The Guardian

‘The Home Office has pursued a policy of psychological brutality by locking up scores of torture survivors in solitary confinement for indefinite periods, according to fresh testimony from immigration detainees.’

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The Guardian, 15th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

CPS review findings for first year of coronavirus prosecutions – Crown Prosecution Service

‘The CPS has now reviewed a full year’s worth of cases charged under the coronavirus legislation, as part of our commitment to ensuring the laws are being applied consistently and correctly. Prosecutors checked 1,821 finalised cases under the Coronavirus Act and Health Protection Regulations between 26 March 2020 and 31 March 2021.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 13th May 2021

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Hundreds of women forced to ‘wear face masks while giving birth’ – The Independent

‘Hundreds of women were forced to wear face masks while giving birth despite this violating formal rules, a new study has found.’

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The Independent, 14th May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

NHS to put stronger focus on learning from litigation claims – Litigation Futures

Posted May 10th, 2021 in budgets, compensation, hospitals, negligence, news, statistics by tracey

‘A new best practice guide urging board-level attention at NHS trusts so they can learn more from clinical negligence cases has been issued in a bid to improve patient safety and reduce claims.’

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Litigation Futures, 10th May 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

UK Covid-related cybercrime fuels 15-fold rise in scam takedowns – The Guardian

‘The UK’s cybersecurity agency has taken down more scams in the last year than in the previous three years combined, with coronavirus and NHS-themed cybercrime fuelling the increase.’

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The Guardian, 5th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mikołaj Barczentewicz: Should Cart Judicial Reviews be Abolished? Empirically Based Response – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The Government adopted a recommendation of the Independent Review of Administrative Law that Cart judicial reviews should be abolished. The reasons given by the Review for that recommendation have been criticised on this blog by Joe Tomlinson & Alison Pickup and by Joanna Bell. The Review (and the Government) claimed that there is only a 0.22% rate of success in Cart judicial reviews (“Cart JRs”), which makes the expenditure of judicial resources on dealing with Cart claims disproportionate. Tomlinson & Pickup and Bell noted that this figure is almost certainly incorrect, but they were not able to say what the true rate of success is due to the unavailability of necessary data. To address that, I conducted an unprecedented empirical study concluding that the success rate of Cart reviews is at least over ten times higher than the Review’s calculation. Here, I briefly summarize the results of my study and argue that in the light of that evidence the Government should propose to put the Cart procedure on a statutory footing, but not abolish it.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 5th May 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Windrush scandal: Concern over wait for compensation – BBC News

‘Campaigners say they are concerned about the low number of compensation payments to victims of the Windrush scandal.’

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BBC News, 4th May 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Immigration and civil litigation hit hardest by Covid-19 – Legal Futures

‘Immigration and civil litigation were the two areas of legal practice hit hardest by the pandemic last year, with private client and family law “insulated” from the impact, new research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 5th May 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Police ‘decided not to investigate’ more crimes during coronavirus pandemic, watchdog says – The Independent

Posted April 21st, 2021 in coronavirus, criminal justice, news, ombudsmen, police, statistics, victims by tracey

‘Police in some areas of Britain have “increased the number of crimes they decided not to investigate” during the coronavirus pandemic, a watchdog has revealed.’

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The Independent, 20th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Female juniors head towards equality before top court – Litigation Futures

Posted April 16th, 2021 in barristers, diversity, equality, gender, news, statistics, Supreme Court, women by tracey

‘The ratio of women to men appearing before the Supreme Court has improved hugely in recent years at junior levels, although less so at senior levels, a comprehensive survey has shown.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th April 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Universities ignoring rape culture warnings, say campaigners – The Guardian

‘Universities have ignored repeated warnings to tackle rape culture on campus, and left themselves exposed to lawsuits and reputational damage, according to lawyers and campaigners.’

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The Guardian, 15th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Thousands in UK may have missed out on work rights redress, study finds – The Guardian

Posted April 15th, 2021 in compensation, employment tribunals, fees, news, statistics by sally

‘A four-year policy of charging workers up to £1,200 to take law-breaking bosses to court was based on misleading data, a study has found, meaning thousands of people may have wrongly missed out on redress for breaches of employment rights.’

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The Guardian, 14th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Joanna Bell: Digging for Information about Cart JRs – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 1st, 2021 in judicial review, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics, tribunals by tracey

‘Anyone who has ever tried to study judicial review in England and Wales empirically knows it is a little like digging for gold without a metal detector: it is difficult to know where to dig and there is also no guarantee that you will find what you are looking for.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 1st April 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

CPS drops more than half of its private prosecutions – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 30th, 2021 in Crown Prosecution Service, news, private prosecutions, statistics by tracey

‘The Crown Prosecution Service discontinued more than half of the private prosecutions referred to it in a year, figures seen by the Gazette reveal.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 29th March 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk