Lawyer news

• Kercher family have a bitter pill to swallow after verdict

  27-03-2015 23:59
  
  After more than seven years of twists, turns and retrials, Meredith Kercher’s relatives must come to terms with the fact that the only people who have ever been seriously considered suspects in the case are now to walk freeWhen Meredith Kercher’s family first heard the news last year that Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito had had their convictions for the Briton’s murder reinstated, they looked ahead to the day when the verdict might be made final by Italy’s highest
  
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• Meredith Kercher murder: Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito acquitted

  27-03-2015 23:59
  
  Italy’s highest court clears pair definitively, ending case that began in November 2007, when body of Leeds University student was discovered in PerugiaThe trial of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, for the killing of British student Meredith Kercher has ended in a stunning acquittal after Italy’s highest court decided to annul their murder convictions.The decision by a five-judge panel on Friday night to clear the pair definitively ends a case that beganRelated: Aman
  
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• Old Bailey must lift secrecy around Erol Incedal case, say media lawyers

  27-03-2015 19:43
  
  Anthony Hudson QC tells court that public can only understand acquittal over terrorist plot charge if press is allowed to report key evidence
  The secrecy that surrounded the prosecution of a London law student on terrorism charges needs to be removed so the public can understand why he was cleared, lawyers representing the British media have told an Old Bailey judge.
  There was a “legitimate and substantial public interest” in the press and broadcasters being permitted to disclose the matters
  
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• Old Bailey must lift secrecy around Erol Incedal case, say lawyers for UK media

  27-03-2015 19:43
  
  Anthony Hudson QC tells court that public can only understand acquittal of plotting terrorist attack if press is allowed to disclose mattersThe secrecy that surrounded the prosecution of a London law student on terrorism charges needs to be swept away so the public can understand why he was cleared, lawyers representing the UK media told an Old Bailey judge on Friday.
  There is a “legitimate and substantial public interest” in the press and broadcasters being permitted to disclose the matters
  
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• Raif Badawi tells of flogging ordeal in letter from Saudi prison

  27-03-2015 19:22
  
  Blogger jailed since 2012 for ‘insulting Islam’ describes how he ‘miraculously survived’ the first 50 of 1,000 lashesJailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has written in his first letter from prison of how he “miraculously survived 50 lashes”, part of his sentence for “insulting Islam”, a German news weekly has said.Badawi, 31, recalled that he was “surrounded by a cheering crowd who cried incessantly ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greatest)” during the whipping, according to a pre-re
  
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• UK government passes closed-road law - Racer

  27-03-2015 19:04
  Racer
  UK government passes closed-road law
  Racer
  The British government has approved the primary legislation that will make it easier for closed-road motorsport to take place in England, Wales and Scotland. While a final piece of legislation is required before it is put into effect, it is a huge step ...en meer »
  
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• In praise of … Jeremy Hutchinson QC | Alan Moses

  27-03-2015 18:58
  
  He is the living symbol of all that independent criminal advocacy means for justice and the rule of lawAdvocacy is an ephemeral art. Once the case is over, it is no longer possible to recapture the telling phrase, the cadence of the voice or the commanding presence. When the QC hangs up his silk gown on a rusty nail, he is soon forgotten. But not so Jeremy Hutchinson QC, who is 100 tomorrow; not so that epitome of the independent criminal advocate, ever proud of his past leadership of an indepen
  
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• France, UK trying to weaken EU air pollution law - EUobserver

  27-03-2015 18:40
  
  EUobserver
  France, UK trying to weaken EU air pollution law
  EUobserver
  The problem of air pollution became visible recently in two of Europe's largest capitals, with London and Paris covered by thick clouds of smog in March. However, while those cities' mayors have proposed measures to tackle the issue, the governments ...
  
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• The image of the sobbing doctor proves that ‘professional distance’ has its human limits

  27-03-2015 18:30
  
  From medics to lawyers, we often expect people to mask their feelings for the sake of professional distance. But there is no shame if that mask slips occasionallyIt’s a simple and haunting image. An accident and emergency doctor crouches in the California rain, hanging on to a wall, grieving for a lost 19-year-old patient. The snapshot was shared many times on social media, having been posted by a paramedic, with the doctor’s permission. I doubt either of them realised that it would reach �
  
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• Britain's first Titan-sized prison gets green light

  27-03-2015 18:06
  
  The £212m prison will hold 2,100 inmates, but plans for a 320-place youth jail have not been approvedThe contract to build Britain’s first Titan-sized prison holding more than 2,100 inmates has been signed just days before next Monday’s deadline when parliament officially dissolves for the general election.But Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, has failed to get similar approval in time for his other flagship prison project, a 320-place “secure college” or supersized youth jail cost
  
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• Indiana is not protecting religious freedom but outright zealotry | Roxane Gay

  27-03-2015 17:51
  
  Governor Mike Pence signed a bill into law that would allow business owners to refuse service of customers they disapprove of. Like the LGBT communityReligious freedom in the United States is protected by the Constitution. It’s strange to have to state the obvious, but the Indiana legislature and Governor Mike Pence seem to need a refresher on basic civics. On 26 March, Pence signed SB 101 into law, a bill which supposedly protects religious freedom, though in this instance, that freedom large
  
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• Google fails in bid to stop privacy cases

  27-03-2015 17:27 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Appeal judgment clarifies law on misuse of private information and on damages in absence of pecuniary loss.
  
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• Google fails in bid to stop privacy actions

  27-03-2015 17:27 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Appeal judgment clarifies law on misuse of private information and on damages in absence of pecuniary loss.
  
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• Germanwings crash: Lufthansa could face huge compensation claims

  27-03-2015 16:05
  
  Legal experts say airline will find it difficult to escape responsibility based on the evidence that has emerged so farThe German flag carrier airline Lufthansa and its Germanwings subsidiary could be liable for compensation claims running into hundreds of millions of pounds unless they can prove that the crash of Flight 4U9525, which ploughed into a rock-strewn French Alpine hillside on Tuesday killing all 150 people on board, was not their fault.Legal experts said that on the evidence that has
  
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• University of Law granted ABS status to offer legal services

  27-03-2015 15:38 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Licence allows ULaw to undertake rights of audience, litigation, reserved instrument activities and administration of oaths.
  
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• Trainee minimum wage hope as Society consults

  27-03-2015 13:35 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Solicitors Regulation Authority abolished regulatory minimum salary for trainee solicitors last year.
  
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• Society consults on trainee wage

  27-03-2015 13:35 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Solicitors Regulation Authority abolished regulatory minimum salary for trainee solicitors last year.
  
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• Human traffickers may face life sentence under Britain's tough new slavery bill

  27-03-2015 13:10
  
  The law also aims to protect those at risk of being enslaved by the $150bn-a-year industry, amid concerns that the measures don’t go far enoughHuman traffickers may face life imprisonment under a British law passed designed to crack down on modern-day slavery, one of a raft of measures designed to lead the way in combating the $150bn-a-year industry.With an estimated 13,000 victims of forced labour, sexual exploitation and domestic servitude in Britain, the government has come under pressure t
  
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• Law firm lobbies UK Government to introduce non-gendered 'X' passports - Gay Star News

  27-03-2015 13:10
  
  Gay Star News
  Law firm lobbies UK Government to introduce non-gendered 'X' passports
  Gay Star News
  International law firm Clifford Chance has submitted a report to the UK's HM Passport Office questioning the Government's decision not to allow passports that do not specify the gender of the holder ('X' passports). The report has been submitted on ...
  
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• Chicago firm heralds London arrival with ABS first

  27-03-2015 13:04 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Practice to start with a small number of US lawyers and seek to recruit locally.
  
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• Bar ponders new limits on ‘cab rank’ rule

  27-03-2015 12:40 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Regulator considers excluding solicitors deemed to be a ‘credit risk’.
  
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• Doubts cast on Singapore liberalisation

  27-03-2015 12:16 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  US firm's joint venture may not be replicable, Law Society says. 
  
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• Doubts cast on Singapore legal liberalisation

  27-03-2015 12:16 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  US firm's joint venture may not be replicable, Law Society says. 
  
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• It’s time to stop sending children to die behind bars | Bharat Malkani

  27-03-2015 12:00
  
  Nearly 3,000 people are serving sentences of life without parole for crimes they committed when they were minors Across America, offenders under the age of 18 - who cannot be legally sentenced to death - are being sentenced instead to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. When it comes to child prisoners, though, life sentences are the moral and legal equivalent of the death penalty - yet their fate goes largely unnoticed. There arenearly 3,000 people who are serving sentences of life witho
  
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• Court fees for convicted criminals not thought through, say magistrates

  27-03-2015 11:53
  
  Magistrates’ Association chairman Richard Monkhouse warns charges of up to £1,200 could make innocent people plead guilty to pay lessA rule change that will force convicted criminals in England and Wales to pay up to £1,200 towards the cost of their court case has been criticised by magistrates.Richard Monkhouse, the chairman of the Magistrates’ Association, said he did not think the fees, which come into force next month, had been properly thought through. Continue reading...
  
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• UK Modern Slavery Act becomes law - Supply Management

  27-03-2015 11:14
  Supply Management
  UK Modern Slavery Act becomes law
  Supply Management
  Legislation requiring companies to report on what they are doing to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains has been approved by the UK Parliament. The Modern Slavery Act was granted Royal Assent by politicians yesterday, on the final day of the ...en meer »
  
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• Society outrage at ‘back door’ criminal court fees

  27-03-2015 10:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Law Society president Andrew Caplen described the new charges - slipped into legislation without debate - as ‘outrageous’ and a threat to fair trials.
  
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• Outrage at ‘back door’ criminal court fees

  27-03-2015 10:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Law Society president Andrew Caplen described the new charges - slipped into legislation without debate - as ‘outrageous’ and a threat to fair trials.
  
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• Germanwings may face multi-million dollar compensation claims over crash

  27-03-2015 03:13
  
  International agreement limits airline liability to around $157,400 per passenger killed but legal experts say this could be exceeded in latest caseLufthansa subsidiary Germanwings could face liabilities well above the typical ceiling in airline crashes for the passengers who died on Tuesday when one of its jets was flown into an Alpine mountain, some aviation lawyers said.A lot will depend on whether the airline can defend itself against negligence claims given that prosecutors said on Thursday
  
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• NSW election promises fewer violent criminals, drugs, paedophiles and guns. Add a pinch of salt | Richard Ackland

  27-03-2015 02:27
  
  The debate over poles and wires has taken the limelight from ‘Lawn Order’ issues this election. But there are some big promises from both parties Poles and wires are not the only game in the NSW election, significant as they are in bolstering a raft of infrastructure promises so numerous and dazzling that you’d have to be a true believer to think they will all see the light of day. Tucked away, almost out of sight, are the packages and promises in the law and justice realm – “Lawn Orde
  
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