Archive

Strasbourg deluged by 2,500 applications from UK prisoners

The European Court of Human Rights has received 2,500 applications from convicted prisoners in the UK claiming their human rights have been breached because they are banned from voting in elections.

High Court refuses to postpone calculation of compensation award

The High Court has refused to postpone the calculation of a multi-million personal injury award until the Lord Chancellor, Ken Clarke, decides whether to cut the discount rate.

Provide more innovative routes to qualification, LSB chair tells regulators

Regulators should ensure that they provide more cost-effective and innovative routes to qualification for the widest number of aspiring lawyers, Legal Services Board chairman David Edmonds has said.

Clarke abandons minimum/maximum sentencing plan

Justice secretary Ken Clarke is reported to have abandoned plans for judges to set minimum and maximum jail terms when sentencing criminals, instead of the current system of automatically letting them go half way through their sentences.

Who you gonna call?

The green paper post-mortem paints a bleak picture of what civil legal aid provision will look like if the MoJ gets its way. For firms intent on continuing to provide legal aid services, the proposed ten per cent fee cut will slice such a large chunk off their thin profit margins that their very existence will be in question, possibly leaving only large volume suppliers in that space. Some sectors are already predicting that practices will have to turn away half of their clients, making substantial restructures, redundancies and closures a distinct possibility. So, as firms begin to digest the details of the coalition's consultation on legal aid cuts, the worst hit offer a snapshot of what their services may look like come the revolution.

The third degree

It may be early days for the third-party funding industry, but it has already generated plenty of hype and provoked extensive debate. Jon Robins questions those on the frontline about its potential to improve the system

Delicate condition

When outcomes focused regulation is adopted next year, the SRA's power to impose conditions on practising certificates is likely to increase – bringing both comfort and concern, says Susanna Heley

Planning ahead

Craig Howell Williams QC explains when mediation can be the solution to planning disputes