Blog
News, analysis, comment and updates from ICLR's case law and UK legislation platform
Legal professionals are subject to no fewer than SEVEN professional regulators, whose names and functions are often referred to in a bewildering Scrabble tray of acronyms and abbreviations. Apart from (1) the BSB which deals with barristers, (2) the SRA which deals with solicitors, and (3) the IPS which deals with legal executives and paralegals,… Continue reading
Earlier this week the Legal Services Board finally approved the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates, the first phase of which will begin on 30 September 2013. In a series of linked posts, we set out the pros and cons of QASA and examine its relationship to PCT and LASPO. (Unfortunately, the regulatory framework of the… Continue reading
When you’re doing a job you hate, what makes it even worse is when everyone else seems to be out enjoying themselves. All the more so when the sun is shining and worse still a few of your good friends are emailing you photos of their latest catch from your local river whilst you’re sitting… Continue reading
HeadClerk called an emergency Chambers Meeting yesterday. “I’m afraid that we need a bit of a shake-up of our practice structure.” A general groan before OldSmoothie said, “Yes, yes. Time for us all to work harder and bring in a few more solicitors.” “Quite the contrary,” said HeadClerk. “In the light of the government’s proposed… Continue reading
A team from ICLR will be walking the walk, literally, and with as much sponsorship as we can muster from all our generous supporters, to raise money for the very good cause of providing legal advice to those who really need it at a time when public legal funding is being savagely cut. The walk… Continue reading
In a recent Commercial case Standard Bank plc v Via Mat International Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 490 the Court of Appeal drew attention to Khader v Aziz (Note) [2010] 1 WLR 2673, reiterated its warning against the unnecessary length of skeleton arguments and reminded parties of the possibility of the sanction of adverse costs orders.… Continue reading
Sometimes I really think that the supposedly cleverest people in the world are in fact the most stupid. A case which came before me last week illustrates this point perfectly. It started life as an uncomplicated personal injury matter which should have settled out of court many years ago. But instead what happened was that… Continue reading
At the annual gathering of the Canadian Association of Law Librarians (CALL) 5-8 May 2013, sponsored in part by ICLR. Conference Diary by Rebecca Herle, Head of Marketing and Operations. After an eventful entrance to the city I refer to as Belle Ville, Montreal, a few bags searched and a less than legal taxi journey,… Continue reading
At a time when Parliament is considering whether to legalise same-sex marriage, and when modern medicine has severed the links between sex and procreation, Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, giving the latest ICLR Annual Lecture, pointed to the “immense gulf” which separates our world from that of the Victorians, and asked how… Continue reading
The news that a judge has held himself to be in contempt of court – and fined himself – has yet again brought to public attention the issue of judicial conduct. The incident occurred in America, where there are plenty of examples of judicial eccentricity, to put it mildly; but that great nation is by… Continue reading
