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Close comfort

When it comes to deprivation of liberty, it should not matter if the judge's heart is in the right place, argues Laura Davidson

Gangster clap trap

Jeannie Mackie tries to wrap her head around the MoJ's latest piece of baffling research

TV times

I've not been arrested. I'm not corresponding from a cold damp rent-free cell. Nor do I have a couple of pots of Fortnum & Mason's jam – sorry, conserve – in my larder plundered from the famous store, sadly. The reason for all these circumstances is that I was unable to join the thousands marching through the streets of London a couple of weekends ago in protest to the government's swingeing cuts (I was too busy contributing to the Big Society elsewhere that day). Had I been able to march, I would have joined the hordes gathered outside the RCJ and Sounding Off For Justice.

QS hires law students to sell the brand in WHSmith

QualitySolicitors has secured an exclusive partnership with WHSmith which will see the legal franchise offer 'legal access points' in 150 WHSmith stores on the high street and railway stations.

Supreme Court rules against house disguised as a barn

The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled this morning that a man who built a 'barn' on a greenbelt land is not entitled to planning permission for the three-bedroom house and gym hidden inside it.

SRA's new 'ten commandments' handbook sets tougher entry rules

The new solicitors' handbook published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority today promises a set of modern principles applicable to all entities operating in the legal services sector come ABS day on 6 October, including tougher requirements for new entrants.

Norgrove prepares family justice system for the post-cuts world

David Norgrove, whose interim report on the family justice system was published last week, has said he anticipated that legal aid would be restricted for private law cases.

Committee 'pulls its punches' on legal aid

The justice select committee “pulled its punches” in its report on legal aid, Steve Hynes, director of the Legal Action Group, has said.