Peers strike blow on legal services reform – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 4th, 2007 in legal services, parliament by sally

“Report stage in the Lords is where the most important changes to a legislative measure are usually made, so it will be no surprise to learn that the Legal Services Bill has been much amended in recent days. And with another day of report still to come, there are bound to be more.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

LCS to approach thousands of miners over fees – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 4th, 2007 in compensation, fees, industrial injuries, miners, news, solicitors by sally

“The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) is to canvas thousands of former miners directly to determine whether solicitors wrongly deducted fees from their compensation claims.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Foreigner escapes sex case by extradition – The Times

Posted May 4th, 2007 in extradition, news, sexual offences by sally

“Two High Court judges yesterday gave warning that the extradition laws may need reform after ruling that a Lithuanian fugitive accused of attempted rape and sexual assault can avoid trial in Britain.”

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The Times, 4th May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

How pruning dispute grew into an £80,000 legal bill – The Times

Posted May 4th, 2007 in defamation, news by sally

“A woman who sued her neighbours for libel and slander after they told police that she had pruned their trees without permission has paid a high price for her action.”

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The Times, 4th May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Daily Telegraph Law Reports

Posted May 4th, 2007 in law reports by sally

Van Colle & Others v. Chief Constable of Hertfordshire

Belfast CC v. Miss Behavin’ Ltd.

Eyres v. Atkinsons Kitchens & Bedrooms Ltd.

St Helens MBC v. JE Derbyshire & Others

Blackburn-Smith v. Lambeth LBC

Daily Telegraph, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Please note that the Daily Telegraph Law Reports are only available online for one week.

Russian oligarch blocks £1.5bn lawsuit – The Times

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in domicile, news, service by sally

“Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska this morning won the first round of a legal battle to block a £1.5 billion lawsuit filed against him by a former friend and business partner.”

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The Times, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Half of law students expect 50-hour working week – Legal Week

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in legal profession, working time by sally

“Almost half of all law students expect to work more than 50 hours a week after qualifying into the profession, according to new research, with just 1% of prospective lawyers targeting a career in-house.” 

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Legal Week, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

Gypsies lose Olympic site battle – BBC News

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in compulsory purchase, news, travellers by sally

“Gypsy families have lost a High Court battle over plans to make them move to make way for the Olympic village.”

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BBC News, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Douglas and Another v. Hello! Ltd. and Others – Times Law Reports

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in confidentiality, contracts, economic loss, law reports by sally

Duty of confidentiality to celebrities is enforceable

Douglas and Another v. Hello! Ltd. and Others

House of Lords 

“Photographic images of the wedding of two celebrities had a commercial value over which the celebrities had sufficient control to enable them to impose an obligation of confidence. A magazine publisher who had bought the exclusive right to publish the photographs and had the benefit of the duty of confidentiality imposed by the celebrities, had the right to enforce that duty against a rival magazine which published unauthorised photographs of the wedding.”

The Times, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

R (Dost Mohammed) v. Secretary of State for Defence – WLR Daily

R (Dost Mohammed) v. Secretary of State for Defence [2007] EWCA Civ 983

“The scheme adopted by the British Government in 2000 to make an ex gratia single payment of £10,000 to each surviving member of five specified categories of persons who had been imprisoned by the Japanese during the Second World War, or their surviving spouses, did not unlawfully discriminate on grounds of race against a Pakistani citizen who had been captured while serving in the Indian army and who could not meet the criteria set out in the scheme.”

WLR Daily, 1st May 2007

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Adelson and another v. Associated Newspapers Ltd. – WLR Daily

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in law reports, limitations, pleadings by sally

Adelson and another v. Associated Newspapers Ltd.

“There was no jurisdiction under s 35 of the Limitation Act 1980 or under CPR r 19.5 to grant an application to amend pleadings by the addition of new claimants in the course of a libel action after the expiry of the limitation period.”

WLR Daily, 1st May 2007

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

The relationship between state, sentencers and probation (judicial and probation autonomy) by Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in probation, sentencing by sally

The relationship between the state, sentencers and probation (judicial and probation autonomy) (PDF)

Speech by Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

Probation Boards Association Conference, 2nd May 2007

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

BCCI working party to push for robust use of judges’ powers to limit rising dispute costs – Legal Week

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in Commercial Court, news by sally

“A top-level, post-BCCI commercial litigation working party, chaired by the judge in charge of the commercial court Mr Justice Aikens, is to lay out its proposals in an ambitious bid to reform the way complex cases are managed.”

Full story 

Legal Week, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

Bar Council wins lobbying victory in Lords vote – Legal Week

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in legal services, news by sally

“The judiciary looks set to win the right to influence appointments to the Legal Services Board following a successful lobbying campaign by the Bar Council for amendments to the Legal Services Bill.”

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Legal Week, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

The one that got away – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in barristers by sally

“Why should one of Britain’s leading specialists in family cases leave the Bar after 35 years and join a solicitors’ firm? It is not unknown for lawyers to seek new challenges in their early to mid-fifties, but the conventional way of changing direction is to become a judge.”

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

US lawyers move to cut £55m in perks – The Times

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in news, pensions, perjury, remuneration by sally

“Lawyers acting for some of Britain’s largest pension funds yesterday sought to freeze the £55 million of bonuses and pension payments due to the former chief executive of BP.”

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The Times, 3rd May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Life got just tougher for those who get scooped – The Times

Posted May 3rd, 2007 in confidentiality, contracts, economic loss, news by sally

“The House of Lords’ ruling, by a 3 – 2 majority in favour of OK! magazine’s £1 million claim against Hello!, will further strengthen the grip that celebrities have over the exploitation of their fame. The use of “spoilers”, in which one publication beats another to an “exclusive” story, will now carry a much greater risk of large compensation claims.”

Full story

The Times, 2nd May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Judgment in full: Douglas v. Hello! – The Times

Posted May 2nd, 2007 in confidentiality, contracts, economic loss, law reports by sally

Douglas v. Hello! [2007] UKHL 21

The Times, 2nd May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Lords OK Hello!’s Zeta-Jones wedding payout – The Times

Posted May 2nd, 2007 in confidentiality, contracts, economic loss, news by sally

“OK! magazine won it’s [sic] appeal today against glossy rival Hello! in the dispute over the Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas wedding photographs.”

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The Times, 2nd May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Landowners secure landmark victory against troubled tenants – The Times

Posted May 2nd, 2007 in insolvency, news, rent by sally

“A clutch of Britain’s biggest landowners who together count for about £100 billion of commercial property have won a landmark High Court battle to prevent tenants wriggling out of unpaid rent when they go under.”

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The Times, 2nd May 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk