The main constitutional business that ought to be on MPs’ minds at the moment is how to deliver the party leaders’ ‘Vow’ to grant ‘extensive new powers’ to the Scottish Parliament. The extent of powers to be transferred, and particularly the extent of power over tax that will be devolved, is far more urgent and …
There are many careers that are worthwhile. All jobs should be important to the people who do them. And all roles have their elements of drudgery, anxiety and exasperation. This is true of being a lawyer as well, so if you think you want to be a lawyer can I offer you anything worthwhile?
18th September 2014 – Referendum Day in Scotland on the question of independence from the remainder of what is now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Fiona Maye is sixty – and a judge in the Family Division of the High Court. Her husband’s about to leave her for a younger woman, she fears, as a case comes before her that will test both her values, and her judgement. A seventeen year old is refusing desperately needed treatment that would save …
Eight years is a long time at the helm of an organisation like the Law Society, and so as he departs Chancery Lane as its chief executive for the last time, Des Hudson takes a lot of baggage with him. But what is the legacy of a man who started off as a breath of …
Continue reading “Guest post: End of an era – the legacy of Des Hudson”
I made a mistake. It was in 1989. I went in-house and found I was good at my job. It was the first time in my life I truly felt I was good at something. Until then I had found everything hard. Exam results were never adorned with flying colours and my CV, such as …
Continue reading “Guest post: Stop being proactive, stop being commercial, stop being nice”
‘Call it the Great Recession, the Great Reset, or whatever, the world palpably shook in September 2008 and the repercussions are still very much with us.’ Bruce MacEwen wrote the above in his 2013 book Growth is Dead, and while changes have been made, much of it still rings true today – including for law …
Continue reading “Guest post: Change is neither good nor bad: It is”
A caricature may reveal a truth… ‘Why, if there is all the talk of change, is change so slow?’ One might be forgiven for thinking that there is rather too much talk of change in the legal profession and perhaps rather less evidence of it happening. It is not easy to see the wood from …
A direct consequence of the government’s decision in May not to make any major changes to the regulatory framework for legal services is that it simultaneously fired the starting gun for the race to introduce major changes to the regulatory framework for legal services.
Last week, the Home Secretary announced that, with all party agreement, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill – (DRIP for short) – would be introduced into Parliament. Much of that is covered in the previous post of 10th July. Since then, criticism has mounted in relation to the late introduction of the Bill prior …
Continue reading “Guest post: DRIP – a torrent of mass surveillance seems more likely”
