High Court reinstates negligence claim against top family law firm – Legal Futures

‘A former client of a leading family law firm should be allowed to sue over its alleged failure to advise about its own negligence, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 6th March 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Drug-rape student ‘among most prolific predators’ – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2025 in China, drug offences, news, rape, sexual offences, victims, voyeurism by sally

‘A PhD student who has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women “may turn out to be one of the most prolific sexual predators that we’ve ever seen in this country”, according to the lead detective on the case.’

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BBC News, 5th March 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Electrician wins £700,000 estate fight after sister seen on video helping their dying mother sign will – The Independent

Posted March 6th, 2025 in families, news, video recordings, wills by sally

‘An electrician has won a £700,000 will fight after a video emerged of his younger sister holding and “propelling” their dying mother’s hand as she signed over her fortune on her deathbed.’

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The Independent, 5th March 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Employment Rights Bill amendments signify additional considerations for employers – OUT-LAW.com

‘The UK government has introduced a large number of amendments to the already lengthy Employment Rights Bill (ERB).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th March 2025

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Gardener wins case against Paddy Power over £1m prize – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2025 in computer programs, contracts, gambling, news by sally

‘A gardener who was told by Paddy Power her £1m jackpot from an online game was a computer error has vowed to “enjoy retirement” after a High Court judge ruled she was entitled to the entire sum.’

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BBC News, 5th March 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pregnant offenders in England and Wales could be spared jail under new guidelines – The Guardian

‘Pregnant women should not be sent to jail unless it is “unavoidable”, according to new sentencing guidelines.’

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The Guardian, 5th March 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Stamp duty: What is it, how much is it and how is it changing? – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2025 in housing, mortgages, news, stamp duty, taxation by sally

‘Home buyers in England and Northern Ireland will pay more stamp duty after 1 April, when two key thresholds are reduced.’

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BBC News, 6th March 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Terence Daintith: Attacking the Attorney General: Some constitutional and administrative context – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted March 6th, 2025 in attorney general, constitutional law, government departments, news by sally

‘Identifying the rules and practices that should properly be regarded as part of our flexible and uncodified constitution is nowhere more difficult than in relation to the internal workings of the executive. At one time this difficulty was normally attributed to a culture of secrecy within government that kept information about its internal organisation out of the public domain. But as Alan Page and I document in our forthcoming Executive Self-Government and the Constitution (OUP, expected April 2025), which shows how constitutionally significant rules and practices within the executive have evolved over the course of this century, a far greater volume of material about such rules and practices is now published – a response, one might surmise, not so much to the formal requirements of the Freedom of Information Act as to the informal pressures and expectations fuelled by the internet, social media and the 24-hour news cycle.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th March 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

High Court judge gives permission to bring legal challenge against Welsh council over Article 4 direction on holiday homes – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 6th, 2025 in housing, judicial review, local government, news, planning, Wales by sally

‘A local objector to Gwynedd Council’s policy on planning for holiday homes has won the right to take the authority to judicial review after a judge said he was “just persuaded” this was the right course.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th March 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

MJF: a re-emphasis on statements of case and evidential rigour – 1 QMLR

‘The Claimant, MJF, alleged that her surgery had been conducted negligently, causing a severe deterioration in her condition. The importance of the case to practitioners lies not in its determination on substantive law, but in the Judge’s observations on (i) statements of case; (ii) witness statements and witness evidence; and (iii) expert evidence.’

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1 QMLR, 6th March 2025

Source: 1corqmlr.com

Ministers criticise ‘two-tier’ sentencing changes in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘Ministers have criticised plans to make the ethnic background of offenders a greater factor in determining whether to jail them, saying they amounted to a “two-tier system” of justice.’

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The Guardian, 6th March 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

No assumption of responsibility after release from police custody: Dobson v Leicestershire Police – 12 KBW

‘In the tragic case of Dobson v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police [2025] EWHC 272 (KB), HHJ Bird examined whether the police had assumed responsibility for the wellbeing of a person released from custody. The court held that there was no assumption of responsibility, and the claim failed. Alexander Cornelius, pupil barrister at 12KBW, analyses the reasoning and parties’ choice of expert evidence.’

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12 KBW, 5th March 2025

Source: pilawblog.com

Mind the Empathy Gap: An Analysis of Agency and Emotional Encounters in the Asylum Appeals of Former Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Minors – Mental Capacity Law and Policy

Posted March 6th, 2025 in appeals, asylum, children, immigration, news, young persons by sally

‘The role of emotion in asylum processes is one that has gained attention in recent years. This article situates itself as a response to this emerging body of literature by shedding new light on how emotions shaped the asylum appeals of a group of former unaccompanied minors in England through the application of the new concept of “empathy gap.” Five socio-legal themes are used to structure the analysis: (i) age disputes, (ii) credibility, (iii) affective ties, (iv) right to voice, and (v) precarious legal status. It is the first article to explore in depth what happens during the asylum appeals process for former unaccompanied minors in Britain and the first to consider how questions of emotion affect their lived experiences of, and the process of, legal proceedings. The article has wider implications for how social processes and relations and informal processes, in particular emotions, influence formal legal proceedings leading to potential for unfair outcomes. The article finds that, to avoid empathy-enhanced reasoning becoming yet another variable leading to inconsistency in the judicial process, systematic training and monitoring are required. These findings carry implications far beyond the immediate context of UK asylum tribunals by offering empirically informed insights for theory and practice regarding the role of emotion in judicial proceedings, and therefore have enduring relevance.’

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EIN Blog, 5th March 2025

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Insolvency Appeals from this Winter period: a cold start but some good news for judgment creditors – 3 Paper Buildings

Posted March 6th, 2025 in appeals, bankruptcy, chambers articles, insolvency, news, Supreme Court by tracey

‘Rebecca Farrell, specialist commercial and insolvency barrister at 3PB, has written an article exploring three recent Insolvency Appeals and their potential impact.’

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3 Paper Buildings, 28th February 2025

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Paddleboard firm owner admits manslaughter of four – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2025 in accidents, guilty pleas, health & safety, homicide, negligence, news by sally

‘A paddleboard tour company owner has admitted to gross negligence manslaughter after the deaths of four people.’

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BBC News, 5th March 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

One in eight women killed by men are over 70, report reveals – The Guardian

Posted March 6th, 2025 in charities, domestic violence, elderly, families, homicide, murder, news, statistics, women by sally

‘One in eight women killed by men in the last 15 years were aged over 70, figures show, with a specialist charity reporting a growing number of older victims of domestic abuse seeking help.’

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The Guardian, 6th March 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

The UK Government and defining “Islamophobia” – Law & Religion UK

‘The Government has established a new working group to produce a “working definition” of Anti-Muslim Hatred and Islamophobia. It will advise government on how best to understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims.’

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Law & Religion UK, 5th March 2025

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Gambling with Consent: Free, Specific, and Informed Consent in Data Protection Law – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 5th, 2025 in consent, damages, data protection, gambling, human rights, news, privacy by tracey

‘In RTM v Bonne Terre Ltd [2025] EWHC 111 (KB), the High Court considered claims brought in data protection and the tort of misuse of private information. The Claimant described himself as a “recovering online gambling addict” [1]. He sought damages for harm, distress and financial loss, and a declaration that his rights under data protection legislation had been infringed, from the Defendant, who operate Sky Betting and Gaming (SBG). The relevant period of the Claimant’s gambling for the claim against SBG (restricted by limitation periods) was 2017 until the end of 2018 or the start of 2019 [15]. The Claimant’s case was that SBG harvested his data using cookies without his consent. SBG the processed his personal data for marketing purposes without lawful basis, and targeted him through direct marketing emails (also without his consent) sent on average twice a day [68]. Consequently, he alleged he suffered substantial losses. Despite the claim having started in an almost inquisitorial fashion, with the Claimant undertaking a broad investigation into gambling laws when recovering from his addiction, the narrow issue at trial was “what, if anything, [the Claimant] consented to in the marketing part of the operation” [77].’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 5th March 2025

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Comprehensive new guidance on imposing community and custodial sentences – Sentencing Council

Posted March 5th, 2025 in codes of practice, community service, imprisonment, news, sentencing by tracey

‘The Council has published a significantly revised version of the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline.’

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Sentencing Council, 5th March 2025

Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Disclosure and Barring Service entitled to come to different conclusion than Teachers Regulation Agency, Court of Appeal rules – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed a former teacher’s appeal against a finding by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) that he had developed an “inappropriate relationship” with a pupil – and therefore would be precluded from being a teacher – despite a separate TRA disciplinary panel finding he was not guilty of professional misconduct.’

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Local Government Lawyer , 4th March 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk