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Read between the lines

The European Court of Justice decision that computer processes which read and make temporary copies of published work should be regarded as breaching copyright is illogical, says Paul Stanley NO

Update: wills and probate

Helen Bryant considers cases involving claims by extended family members under the Inheritance Act, proving secret trusts, propriety estoppel and inheritance tax

Update: licensing

Roy Light discusses underage sales of alcohol, private hire licences and out of area working, licence conditions and the responsibilities of premises licence holders

Friends in high places

'Diversification' is a buzz word very much in vogue at the moment. It is important to have a diverse profession, a diverse judiciary, and presumably diverse participants in the whole jolly thing, without whom we are all twiddling our thumbs and fiddling with paperclips. Curiously, everybody feels that they are on the wrong end of diversification, except for (almost) the very people without whom we are all twiddling our thumbs and fiddling with paperclips.

In the drink

Pubs and hotels have been hit hard by the recession, regulation and changes in consumer demand, but lawyers have remained busy, in particular where clients are a new breed of establishment. Jenny Ramage reports

Carolyn Regan: legal aid is the fourth plank of the welfare state

The chief executive of the Legal Services Commission is on the 'most wanted' list of many legal aid lawyers. Nothing personal, they say, but Carolyn Regan just happens to be the person presiding over a range of unpopular reforms to the legal aid system initiated by Lord Falconer when he was Lord Chancellor.

Listening to reason

The courts will take a different view of landlords' rights on residential, as opposed to commercial, tenancies, and will be reluctant to make an order for possession on a property with a protected tenancy, warns Julian Sidoli del Ceno

Change of plan

The new Planning Costs Circular will affect local authorities and applicants alike, and both will need to consider the new wording and how to meet their obligations to avoid incurring costs, says Marco Mauro