Archive

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.

Back to basics

Jonathan Smithers harks back to a time of the beautiful contract

Suit yourself

The Supreme Court's decision to abolish experts' immunity from suit has left witnesses open to negligence claims, but to what extent will things really change? Danielle Best examines the implications, and Martin Spencer QC advises on what experts should do next

No win, no fee, no way

When Ken Clarke unveiled his widely anticipated plans to reform no win, no fee arrangements last Tuesday, nobody expected that he would also put forward another set of proposals for the reform of the civil justice system as a whole. In the maelstrom that engulfed the personal injury world later that day, one issue was remarkably absent...

No place like home

Could home births now be outlawed following rulings by Brussels and Strasbourg? Barbara Hewson reports

Pushing forward

As the government goes full steam ahead with Jackson, Simon Gibbs brings us up to speed on the current case law ahead of wholesale civil justice reform