‘Privilege is now seen as a fundamental human right’: British intelligence agencies face spying on lawyers allegations Legal Business The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has heard that legal privileged documents between lawyers and their clients may have been targeted…
‘A step backwards’: Home Secretary weighs in on SFO’s future with proposal to abolish Legal Business When Legal Business queried in September whether the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was finally turning a corner after a year…
House of Lords votes against Grayling over judicial review restrictions following warnings from the profession Legal Business Justice secretary Chris Grayling has been defeated in the House of Lords over plans to limit the ability of individuals…
Guest post: Full of sound and fury on human rights – the Conservative’s British Bill of Rights Legal Business The Conservative plan for a ‘British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities’ is finally being made clear today. The tone of…
Guest post: what might the Tory human rights plan be? Legal Business Although Tory hostility to human rights law is obvious, there’s been vagueness till now about what actual policy a Conservative…
Guest post: Let’s avoid a huge constitutional talkfest – how devolution needs to be handled Legal Business The main constitutional business that ought to be on MPs’ minds at the moment is how to deliver the party…
High Court rules Lord Chancellor acted ‘unlawfully’ in legal aid reform consultation Sarah Downey In a stinging blow to the government’s controversial and widely condemned plans to overhaul criminal legal aid, the High Court…
Guest post: The Children Act – a look at Ian McEwan’s take on law and the justice system Legal Business Fiona Maye is sixty – and a judge in the Family Division of the High Court. Her husband’s about to…
Law Society foresees return to pre-recession growth for industry by 2015 Legal Business The Law Society has forecasted the UK legal industry will return to pre-Lehman levels of growth by next year, according…
On Chancery Lane – Law Society appoints NHSLA head as successor to outgoing chief Sarah Downey In the days when in-house lawyers have gained increasing influence in law and business, the Law Society could be seen…
Gardening leave is not at your leisure – High Court rules on notices and covenant periods Legal Business It is often forgotten that the received wisdom as the 1990s wore on was that restrictive covenants and other restraints…
Guest post: Dominic Grieve as Attorney General, 2010-2014 Legal Business The first time I ran into Dominic Grieve, he made a fool of the Labour shadow justice minister, Paul Boateng.…
Energy lawyers welcome Queen’s speech as Infrastructure Bill set to open pathways to fracking Legal Business Energy lawyers are expecting a hike in UK shale gas projects after the Queen’s speech yesterday (4 June) outlined plans…
Know your client – Home Office targets professional advisers with tougher organised crime laws Caroline Hill City law firms may face increased red tape when accepting new clients onto their books after the Home Office today…
Bleak reading for all but the biggest law firms in latest Law Society statistics report Legal Business The squeeze on the legal profession is in evidence in the latest annual statistics report from the Law Society, which…
Law Society lines up TLT’s senior partner to take over as president Sarah Downey The Law Society has today (24 April) announced that TLT Solicitors senior partner Robert Bourns has been elected as the body’s…
‘Why don’t parties and their donors pay to run Parliament?’ MoJ pushes ahead with controversial court fees reform Legal Business Despite fierce accusations from within the senior echelons of the legal profession that the Government has failed to comprehend the…
End of the lawyer glut? Latest stats show fall of 3,000 working solicitors amid profession in flux Legal Business With the impact of the latest cuts to legal aid yet to bite, the number of practising solicitors in the…
A budget for retiring partners and firms moving offices, but disappointing news for LLPs Legal Business The long-trailed 2014 budget yesterday (19 March) brought few surprises to the legal business community, although nonetheless some disappointment, as…
Guest post: Notes from the frontline of Grayling Day – ‘The whole system is in revolt’ Legal Business At Friday’s ‘Grayling Day’ demonstration in London, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association Nigel Lithman QC told the audience that…
