Opinion
OPINION: Paul Hunt
Posted by Ben Schofield on December 2, 2008 10:48 AM
Paul Hunt discusses how it could be decision time for prenuptial agreements in the UK
FOR the first time, a case involving the enforceability of a pre-nuptial agreement has been to the highest court in the UK, the House of Lords.
The case, which originated in the Isle of Man, brought to wider attention the growing pressure to move towards a situation in which such agreements become binding.
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COMMENT: Law Commission's bribery law recommendations
Posted by Ben Schofield on November 20, 2008 3:14 PM
The Law Commission today published its recommendations for the reform of the law on bribery.
Edward de la Billière, head of financial investigations and criminal fraud at national law firm Hill Dickinson, commented:
"These Law Commission recommendations for simplifying the law relating to bribery and corruption come after a prolonged period of consultation and criticism of the UK's attitude to and ability to prosecute corruption.
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OPINION: Rex Makin
Posted by Ben Schofield on November 11, 2008 1:26 PM
Rex Maxkin on the importance of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
THE Criminal Cases Review Commission established in March 1997 is an independent public body set up by the 1995 Criminal Appeal Act.
The objective was to review possible miscarriages of justice in the criminal courts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and refer appropriate cases to the appeal courts.
Based in Birmingham, the Commission (CCRC) has about 100 staff, including about 50 caseworkers supported by administrative staff.
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OPINION: Helen Broughton
Posted by Ben Schofield on November 4, 2008 12:37 PM
Helen Broughton on the issue of opening family courts to public scrutiny.
FAMILY courts are to be open up to the media in response to controversy over their decisions and the way they operate.
Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, plans to announce changes next month to create more transparency in the system.
Newspapers, Families Needs Fathers and other partisan groups are very keen on this. They see it as protecting families from unfair and unjustified state intervention or, in private law to the unfairness of alleged prejudicial judges in denying one party their due rights.
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OPINION: Rex Makin
Posted by Ben Schofield on October 28, 2008 10:33 AM
Rex Makin says Lay Magistrates' days may be numbered.
THE office of Justice of the Peace goes back hundreds of years, but how long will it last? Magistrates' courts are drying up with business, apart from the Family Courts.
The reason is two-fold: first of all, instead of cases being filtered before they are sent to a higher court, they are dispensed with an alacrity which is the speed of Mercury. The old practice of having oral committals has virtually been abolished and accused people are dispatched to the Crown court. While this has the advantage of speeding up justice, it is also justice denied.
Under the old procedure of oral committals, witnesses were tested and many a charge was dismissed.
The magistrate who heard the committal proceedings was known as the examining magistrate. Now cautions and fixed penalties have dramatically reduced the criminal business of the courts.
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Opinion: Rex Makin
Posted by Ben Schofield on October 14, 2008 5:44 PM
REX MAKIN predicts the closure of many law firms. Here he recounts the toll being taken on the legal profession
THESE are hard times for the legal profession, or as some people prefer, the legal trade. With the lack of house sales solicitors who once had the monopoly of conveyancing now find business of that nature has almost evaporated.
There are other difficulties and some small firms are being forced to close because they cannot afford to pay the increased indemnity premiums, while hundreds more are destined to end up in the very costly assigned professional insurance risk pool.
Some firms have chosen to shut down, claiming their inability to find cover in the conventional market.
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OPINION: Godfrey Freeman
Posted by Ben Schofield on September 16, 2008 12:31 PM
Godfrey Freeman on his first three months as chair of family law group Resolution.
THE first three months as chair of Resolution have, to say the least, been very busy.
After giving the opening address of the conference after my election, I was followed by Mr Justice Coleridge's keynote speech criticising the way the family justice system in England and Wales had been neglected.
The Daily Mail made it front-page news and brought about a media frenzy.
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OPINION: Sean Crotty
Posted by Ben Schofield on September 15, 2008 2:58 PM
Sean Crotty on why file sharers should beware
NOT BEFORE time, the wild west nature of the internet and file sharing is being tamed bit by bit.
Recently, an English court ordered that a woman who illegally downloaded a video game from a file sharing website should pay £16,000 to the copyright holder of the video game.
Many commentators believe that this is the thin end of the wedge, as the court's decision is likely to be one of many since the music, film and video game industries have commenced battle with illegal downloaders.
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OPINION: Bill Chandler
Posted by Ben Schofield on September 9, 2008 12:35 PM
Bill Chandler assesses the effect empty rates relief reform has had on new and speculative developments and how if it could cost the industry long-term.
THE RATING regime for empty commercial properties changed significantly when the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 came into force on April 1, 2008.
Some owners of empty commercial property have been spurred on by the reforms to agree lettings of empty properties for shorter terms and at lower rents than they may previously have considered. Such lettings allow property owners to pass on the new rating liability to tenants and to obtain a new rate free period once the tenant vacates.
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OPINION: Carole Atkinson
Posted by Ben Schofield on September 2, 2008 1:36 PM
DISPUTES over children are one of the most difficult and distressing areas of relationship breakdown.
Almost all disputed cases involving contact or residence are emotionally charged and complicated.
And as the Fathers for Justice campaign demonstrates men, as well as women, can be left feeling deeply aggrieved by the process.
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OPINION: Paul Spence on the anniversary no one wants to celebrate
Posted by Ben Schofield on August 13, 2008 11:14 AM
ON AUGUST 9 last year investment bank BNP Paribas announced a "complete evaporation of liquidity in the market". This led to the European Central Bank injecting more than 200billion Euro into the banking market and is acknowledged to have been the start of the "credit crunch".
Various horror stories have made the national and international headlines ever since.
The impact upon business has been worrying, as shown by the recently-released Government insolvency statistics.
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OPINION: Debra Grant looks at the importance of getting to grips with the Companies Act 2006
Posted by Vicky Anderson on July 9, 2008 1:03 PM
DESPITE many provisions having already come into effect over the past year or so, many businesses are still failing to fully appreciate the implic-ations of the Compan-ies Act 2006 and imple-ment the changes it introduces that could be beneficial to them.
The 2006 Act largely replaces the 1985 Act and is designed to centralise company law legislation, while mak-ing it more user friend-ly for company officers and other users.
The effect of the ap-plication of the 2006 Act is also intended to reflect working practic-es of the modern busi-ness world, enabling companies to remain competitive and responsive to change.
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OPINION: Paul Beck on why the Equality Bill should apply to both the public and private sectors
Posted by Vicky Anderson on July 1, 2008 11:11 AM
THE white paper produced by the Equalities Minister Harriett Harman last week paved the way for legislation that will require all public bodies to reveal what they are doing to close the gender pay gap.
The white paper also aims to ban “gagging clauses� that are used by one in four employers to stop staff comparing wages.
Disclosure would allow those who are unlawfully underpaid - usually women - to challenge the employer at an employment tribunal.
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OPINION: Nicola Quinn
Posted by Vicky Anderson on June 3, 2008 6:30 AM
Brabners Chaffe Street's HR manager on lawyers' work-life balance
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OPINION: Carole Atkinson
Posted by Vicky Anderson on May 27, 2008 6:40 AM
Mace & Jones's head of family law on falling marriage rates
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OPINION: Charles Millett
Posted by Vicky Anderson on May 20, 2008 10:58 AM
The Morecrofts' employment specialist on expired warnings
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OPINION: Peter Forshaw
Posted by Vicky Anderson on May 13, 2008 6:30 AM
The partner and head of the leisure unit at Weightmans on the "tan ban"
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OPINION: Robert Stoker
Posted by Vicky Anderson on May 8, 2008 3:07 PM
DLA Piper's legal director on intellectual property rights
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OPINION: Peter Mellody
Posted by Vicky Anderson on May 6, 2008 6:45 AM
The JST Lawyers employment specialist on the EU's Equal Treatment Directive
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OPINION: Stuart Jones
Posted by Vicky Anderson on April 29, 2008 6:05 AM
Weightmans' employment partner on health screening
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OPINION: Mark Dale
Posted by Vicky Anderson on April 15, 2008 6:40 AM
The DLA Piper associate and employment law specialist on the use of social networking sites on work time
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OPINION: James Murray
Posted by Vicky Anderson on April 8, 2008 11:54 AM
The partner at James Murray Solicitors on fair rape trials
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OPINION: Sarah Conroy
Posted by Vicky Anderson on April 1, 2008 6:40 AM
The commercial dispute resolution specialist from Weightmans discusses the perils of posting online.
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OPINION: Fiona Davidson
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 25, 2008 6:40 AM
Mace & Jones's family law associate solicitor on the McCartney divorce
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OPNION: Chris Harmer
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 4, 2008 6:40 AM
The joint head of the dispute resolution team at JST Lawyers on the Philip Olivier landlord case
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OPINION: Peter Forshaw
Posted by Vicky Anderson on February 19, 2008 6:40 AM
Peter Forshaw, partner and head of leisure at Weightmans, on proposed Alcohol Disorder Zones
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OPINION: Zia Chaudhry
Posted by Vicky Anderson on February 12, 2008 6:50 AM
Zia Chaudhry, a barrister at India Buildings Chambers and founder of The Spirit of Cordoba project, on shariah law
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OPINION: Alison Lobb
Posted by Vicky Anderson on February 5, 2008 6:45 AM
Alison Lobb, partner and head of civil litigation at Liverpool solicitors Morecrofts and a member of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, on the “Lotto rapist� ruling
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OPINION: Fiona Parry
Posted by Vicky Anderson on January 29, 2008 6:45 AM
Fiona Parry, a partner at Halliwells, on the continuing credit crunch
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OPINION: Jim Percival
Posted by Vicky Anderson on January 22, 2008 6:55 AM
JIM Percival, partner specialising in regulatory law and dispute resolution at Brabners Chaffe Street, on the government's go-ahead for new nuclear power stations
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Opinion: Mark Robinson on the perils of the Christmas Party
Posted by David Higgerson on December 4, 2007 5:53 PM
WITH Christmas approaching and the office party season getting into full swing, how concerned should employers be about finding themselves responsible for an employee’s behaviour at a social event?
Can an employer be liable for drunkenness,
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OPINION: Bill Chandler
Posted by Vicky Anderson on November 27, 2007 6:55 AM
Bill Chandler, partner and commercial property specialist at Hill Dickinson, discusses the legality of sprinklers in warehouses
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OPINION: Stuart Rathe warns of sale and rent back
Posted by Vicky Anderson on November 20, 2007 6:50 AM
THERE has been huge media interest in recent weeks in so-called ‘sale and rent back’ schemes, where companies purchase properties for up to 60% below market value.
These companies generally give no security to the occupier beyond a 6 to 12 month tenancy. They are typically used by vulnerable people in financial difficulty.
However, a clear distinction should be made between these dangerous sale and rent back schemes and safe, regulated equity release schemes for older homeowners.
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OPINION: Philip Byrne on the Rating (Empty Properties) Act
Posted by Vicky Anderson on November 13, 2007 6:47 AM
COMMERCIAL landlords will no longer to be able to enjoy significant business rate allowances on empty properties due to the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007, which takes effect on April 1 2008, writes Philip Byrne, associate in commercial property at Brabners Chaffe Street.
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OPINION: Philip Byrne on the Rating (Empty Properties) Act
Posted by Vicky Anderson on November 13, 2007 6:47 AM
COMMERCIAL landlords will no longer to be able to enjoy significant business rate allowances on empty properties due to the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007, which takes effect on April 1 2008, writes Philip Byrne, associate in commercial property at Brabners Chaffe Street.
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OPINION: Dawn Joughin on inheritance tax
Posted by Vicky Anderson on October 23, 2007 8:15 AM
THE Chancellor’s proposal for a “transferable nil-rate band� between spouses and civil partners in his recent pre-Budget Report means it’s now possible for the surviving spouse to “double up� on the nil rate band on gifts made by them under their will.
Prior to this, it was possible for married couples to pass almost unlimited assets to each other without paying inheritance tax.
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OPINION: Chris Aitken on new Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
Posted by Vicky Anderson on October 16, 2007 9:29 AM
AS A result of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, a new arrangement called Lasting Power of Attorney replaced EPAs (Enduring Power of Attorney) at the beginning of this month.
Unfortunately, there is now greater expense at the outset because of the requirement to register the LPA with the Public Guardianship Office.
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OPINION: Carol Hopwood on small claims
Posted by Deborah James on October 9, 2007 6:50 AM
Solicitors acting for people injured in accidents were delighted to hear earlier this year that the personal injuries small claims limit was to remain unchanged at £1,000, following Lord Falconer’s announcement at the APIL Annual Conference.
This announcement was made despite heavy lobbying from insurance companies that it should be increased to up to £5000.
The significance of the small claims limit is far reaching for the consumer.
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OPINION: David Rawlinson on the press treatment of the McCanns
Posted by Vicky Anderson on October 2, 2007 8:23 AM
MADELEINE McCANN’S disappear- ance has been the subject of press speculation for months.
Allegations made against her parents in some national news- papers are potentially defamatory and actionable, if not prefaced by the journalist’s favourite word – “alleged�.
But, with little or no actual evidence existing to prove the McCanns’ guilt, questions must be asked how the press is allowed to report such accusations and apparently suffer no legal consequences?
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Opinion: Ross Meadows on employment tribunals
Posted by Vicky Anderson on September 25, 2007 6:28 AM
NEW figures show that the number of employment tribunals is rocketing.
Cases brought to tribunals in the last year rose by 15% to a total of 132,577, with the biggest increase – 155% – in equal pay claims.
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