Lawyer news

• Are our courts a playground for bullies? Just ask Catherine Belton | Nick Cohen

  08-05-2021 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Her acclaimed book is under attack from Russian billionaires. Are they out to silence her?Welcome to London, the censorship capital of the democratic world, where you must watch your step and bite your tongue if you know what’s good for you.Everyone here who writes or broadcasts about plutocratic power should be honest with you before getting down to business. We’re pretty much free to say what we want about Boris Johnson, for example, or Dominic Raab. They’re only our prime mi
  
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• Refugees and the Armenian genocide: human rights this fortnight in pictures

  08-05-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Colombia to China Continue reading...
  
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• ‘I pray God takes him first’: why do some US states want to execute the dying?

  08-05-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Case of terminally ill Gerald Pizzuto renews debate about capital punishment for people who are sick or very oldGerald Pizzuto is near death, but it’s unclear whether the cancer or the state of Idaho will get to him first.For more than a year, the 65-year-old has been in hospice care on Idaho’s death row, suffering from advanced bladder tumors, along with type 2 diabetes, and a variety of heart and lung diseases. According to his defense team, he’s been prescribed 42 different
  
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• Court hears ‘obvious concerns’ about Slater and Gordon ATE commissions

  07-05-2021 18:38 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Claimant seeks to find out whether firm received any financial benefit from fees paid to subsidiary.
  
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• Singapore jostles with London for top arbitration spot

  07-05-2021 17:59 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Popularity of Asian arbitral hubs has grown significantly in the past five years, according to global study.
  
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• Firm right to sack ‘car-window cash’ solicitor, CoA rules

  07-05-2021 14:10 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Employment appeal ruling overturned in case of solicitor who accepted £150 in a pub car park as a gift.
  
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• Firm entitled to sack ‘car-window cash’ solicitor, CoA rules

  07-05-2021 14:10 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Employment appeal ruling overturned in case of solicitor who accepted £150 in a pub car park as a gift.
  
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• Solicitors’ new firm pledges to give all profits away

  07-05-2021 13:54 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Pair left private practice to form not-for-profit business in their home country Norfolk.
  
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• 'Very decent, good man': council pays tribute to property solicitor

  07-05-2021 12:42 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Neil Astles, 59, died a couple of weeks after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.
  
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• HFW defies sanctions row with China expansion

  07-05-2021 12:21 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  City firm says it remains ‘deeply committed’ to the Chinese legal market and now has 78 lawyers in the region.
  
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• Ex-client sues firm over ‘ridiculous’ ground rent clause

  07-05-2021 12:09 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Leaseholder claims to have been unaware that ground rent would double every five years.
  
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• Criminal legal aid solicitors 'have suffered 50% pay cut'

  07-05-2021 12:05 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Government-commissioned review is told overstretched and underpaid practitioners are on the brink.
  
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• 'Ableist attitudes': BSB reviews bar exam fiasco

  07-05-2021 10:12 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  'Only a tribunal can determine whether the bar regulator failed in its duty to make reasonable adjustments,' says independent review.
  
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• Tony Williams loses contract with US club over comments backing former NRL teammate Jarryd Hayne

  07-05-2021 09:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Williams targeted Hayne’s victim on Instagram, questioning the woman’s truthfulness and the justice systemFormer NRL player Tony Williams has been sacked by a US rugby league team for comments he made in support of his former teammate Jarryd Hayne after the latter was jailed for sexual assault.Williams, who represented Australia and New South Wales during a 10-year professional career in Australia, claimed Hayne was innocent after he was sentenced to a minimum of three years and eigh
  
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• SRA to create ‘independent’ team to assess enforcement quality

  07-05-2021 08:19 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Arms-length body part of plans released covering the regulator’s business for the next year.
  
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• Judge criticises Priti Patel over policy for asylum seekers in pandemic

  06-05-2021 21:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Court hears home secretary may have acted unlawfully in changing accommodation policyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA high court judge has criticised the home secretary in court and said he found it “extremely troubling” after one of her officials admitted the Home Office may have acted unlawfully in changing its asylum accommodation policy during the pandemic.Mr Justice Garnham raised concerns in court on Thursday that Priti Patel may have been dis
  
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• Uganda and role of the international criminal court | Letter

  06-05-2021 18:02 via theguardian.com
  
  William Byaruhanga, Uganda’s attorney general, says the country’s justice system is capable and independentAs Uganda is a signatory to the international criminal court, citizens have every right to lodge cases before it (Ugandan president’s son named in ICC complaint over abductions and abuse, 3 May).Yet the ICC is a court of last resort for countries that, whether for capacity or politicisation, cannot be expected to deliver legal redress. This is not needed in Uganda when the
  
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• Home Office unlawfully stopped family joining Windrush woman, court rules

  06-05-2021 15:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Family of Lynda Mahabir will be able to join her in UK without paying large immigration feesThe Home Office unlawfully prevented the children and husband of a Windrush generation woman from joining her in the UK, separating the family for almost three years in a manner the high court ruled represented “a colossal interference” in her right to family life.In a significant judgment that could help many others from the Windrush cohort to bring close relatives to the UK, the family of Ly
  
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• Home Office unlawfully discriminating against Windrush families, court rules

  06-05-2021 15:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Department refused to give Windrush families preferential treatment when charging fees to enter UK The Home Office’s refusal to give the families of people from the Windrush generation preferential treatment when charging fees to enter the UK is unlawfully discriminatory, the high court has ruled.Lynda Mahabir, a 52-year-old woman who was born in Trinidad, suffered a “colossal interference” with her right to family life when she was separated from her husband and five children
  
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• ICC sentences Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army leader to 25 years

  06-05-2021 14:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Former child soldier Dominic Ongwen committed crimes against humanity as commander in cultThe international criminal court has sentenced a former militia leader and child soldier from Uganda to 25 years in prison after he was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a landmark judgment.The presiding judge, Bertram Schmitt, said the panel of judges had considered sentencing Dominic Ongwen to life imprisonment, the court’s harshest punishment, but had sided against it due to
  
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• Immigration lawyers attack Patel's reform proposals

  06-05-2021 13:43 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Immigration Law Practitioners Association submits 81-page response to New Plan for Immigration consultation.
  
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• Upbeat listed City firm expects profits ‘significantly ahead’ of plan

  06-05-2021 13:33 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Gateley shares jump after buoyant trading update with dividend pledge.
  
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• Listed legal pioneer forecasts profits ‘significantly ahead’ of plan

  06-05-2021 13:33 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Gateley shares jump after buoyant trading update with dividend pledge.
  
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• Trial date set for City firm torture claim

  06-05-2021 11:33 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Claims are described as 'the most serious allegations ever levelled against English solicitors in civil proceedings'.
  
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• Christian Porter moves to strike out major sections of ABC’s defamation defence

  06-05-2021 11:04 via theguardian.com
  
  The former attorney general is suing the public broadcaster and is trying to stop parts of its defence being made publicChristian Porter has moved to strike out major sections of the ABC’s defence of his defamation claim, and prevent them from becoming public, accusing the public broadcaster of abusing the court process.The ABC filed its defence on Tuesday, prompting an interlocutory application from Porter for an order to make confidential and strike out sections of the document on the ba
  
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• 'Extremely odd': Bar criticises logic of judicial review reforms

  06-05-2021 10:54 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Suspended quashing orders leave old law in place - but what happens to cases that need to be decided before they come into force?
  
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• More City secretaries facing redundancy

  06-05-2021 10:37 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Dechert has offered voluntary redundancy to a ‘small number’ of secretarial staff, in a wave of City job losses.
  
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• £100m divorce award: judge rebuffs media pleas to publish judgment

  06-05-2021 10:20 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Billionaire newspaper owner applied to court to keep details out of public domain.
  
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• Pressure mounts on Australia to support Covid vaccine intellectual property waiver for developing nations

  06-05-2021 03:28 via theguardian.com
  
  US now supports bid to allow poorer nations to make cheap copies of vaccines, but Australia is holding outPressure is mounting on Australia to support waiver of intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines after the United States reversed its long-held opposition to announce they will back the plan.Australia is now one of the last countries not to have thrown its support behind the waiver proposal at the World Trade Organization, after India and South Africa – who have led a glo
  
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• Sir Frederick Barclay ordered to pay estranged wife £100m

  05-05-2021 20:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Daily Telegraph owner criticised by high court judge for ‘reprehensible’ behaviour during divorce battleA high court judge has criticised Sir Frederick Barclay, the billionaire owner of the Daily Telegraph, for “reprehensible” behaviour during a divorce battle and ordered him to pay his estranged wife £100m.Mr Justice Cohen said Barclay, 86, had breached a court order to sell a luxury yacht and produce the proceeds, and had instead sold the vessel and kept the money
  
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• Linklaters to elect its first female leader

  05-05-2021 17:10 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Magic circle firm will choose a senior partner from an all-female shortlist for the first time in its 183-year history.
  
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• 'Insane delusions': bitter wills dispute adjourned by court

  05-05-2021 13:39 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Brother and sister are contesting the validity of two wills made by their late mother during 'a complex grief reaction'.
  
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• Hundreds of Windrush victims waiting over a year for compensation

  05-05-2021 13:31 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Home Office says holistic approach 'takes time but is ultimately beneficial’ to claimants.
  
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• Former Irwin Mitchell duo fly solo

  05-05-2021 12:54 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Emilie Cole and Shazia Khan say Covid-19 made them refocus and decide to set up a firm together.
  
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• Courts attrition crisis as £17,000-a-year ushers shun service

  05-05-2021 12:20 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  HMCTS admits problem with salaries as it struggles to hang on to staff.
  
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• International network buys stake in second UK law firm

  05-05-2021 11:55 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  ETL Global has purchased majority share of London firm and plans to rebrand.
  
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• City firm loses cyber-snooping appeal

  05-05-2021 11:45 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Stokoe Partnership Solicitors claims it has been subject to cyber attacks since taking on a high profile case.
  
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• Australian man launches legal challenge to India travel ban, as number of vulnerable citizens rises

  05-05-2021 10:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Gary Newman, an Australian in Bangalore, files suit against Greg Hunt for failing to consider alternatives before pausing flights from the Covid-ravaged regionThe federal court will hear an urgent legal challenge to Australia’s India travel ban, after a 73-year-old Australian in Bangalore launched a challenge.On Wednesday Gary Newman filed the case against health minister Greg Hunt’s determination that people who have been in India in the past 14 days cannot return to Australia. Rela
  
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• Firms rebound after market shrinks by 4%

  05-05-2021 10:42 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  LexisNexis study finds stark discrepancies between the performance of different practice areas.
  
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• ‘More trafficking victims to be held in detention under UK rule change’

  05-05-2021 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Rights groups warn many more survivors face being locked up after MPs back Home Office changeMore victims of trafficking will be locked up in detention and forcibly removed from the UK after MPs approved a change in Home Office rules relating to this vulnerable group, campaigners have warned.MPs recently confirmed what is known as a statutory instrument. This change in rules relating to the detention of trafficking victims comes into force on 25 May and will require them to provide a higher stan
  
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• More trafficking victims facing forcible removal from UK under rule change

  05-05-2021 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Rights groups warn many more survivors face being locked up after MPs back Home Office changeMore victims of trafficking will be locked up in detention and forcibly removed from the UK after MPs approved a change in Home Office rules relating to this vulnerable group, campaigners have warned.MPs recently confirmed what is known as a statutory instrument. This change in rules relating to the detention of trafficking victims comes into force on 25 May and will require them to provide a higher stan
  
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• European Commission deals blow to UK's Lugano hopes

  04-05-2021 17:44 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Ultimate decision on UK’s accession lies in the hands of the European Council.
  
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• Child marriage ‘thriving in UK’ due to legal loophole, warn rights groups

  04-05-2021 16:34 via theguardian.com
  
  In a letter to the PM campaigners say forced marriage law fails to protect young peopleA legal loophole that allows 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent is being exploited and used to coerce young people into child marriage, campaigners have warned.More than 20 organisations have signed a letter to the prime minister insisting current forced marriage law does not go far enough in protecting young people. Related: 'So old he was losing his hair': survivors urge MPs to end scandal o
  
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• New drive to liberalise India’s legal market

  04-05-2021 13:23 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Foreign lawyers are currently banned from practising in India and there is no requalification system in place. 
  
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• Listed firm adds 138 fee earners with £11.5m acquisition

  04-05-2021 13:04 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Knights continues to snap up businesses across different regions of England and Wales.
  
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• New Zealand draws back from calling Chinese abuses of Uyghurs genocide

  04-05-2021 12:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliament will not debate motion and will instead discuss rights abuses in more general termsNew Zealand’s parliament will not debate a motion that would label the abuses of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang as acts of genocide.Parliament opted instead on Tuesday to water down the language, and discuss concerns about human rights abuses in the region in more general terms. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Markedly inferior': Bar councils warn against virtual justice

  04-05-2021 12:07 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Legal bodies issue joint statement warning against the wide-spread use of remote hearings.
  
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• France allows UK lawyers to keep practising post-Brexit

  04-05-2021 11:37 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Paris confirms that UK solicitors are eligible for ‘foreign legal consultant’ status under new trade agreement.
  
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• Australian government urged to press Saudis to reveal whereabouts of extradited citizen

  04-05-2021 11:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Fresh doubts have been raised over an alleged criminal case in Saudi Arabia against Osama al-HasaniSaudi Arabian authorities must urgently reveal the location of the Australian citizen who was extradited to the country, human rights advocates say, amid fresh doubts over the alleged criminal case against him.Osama al-Hasani, 42, was transferred from Morocco to Saudi Arabia at 2.45am on 13 March, just hours after United Nations officials sent an urgent letter asking authorities not to deport him o
  
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• Pub and restaurant bosses lose legal fight over England Covid closures

  03-05-2021 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  High court judge dismisses attempt to bring forward indoor reopeningsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHospitality bosses have lost their legal battle to force the UK government to bring forward the reopening date for pubs and restaurants indoors.A high court judge dismissed the attempt to bring forward indoor reopenings as “academic” because the hearing would be unlikely to take place before 17 May, when pubs and restaurants in England could welcome c
  
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