Roger Smith
NLJ columnist
Roger Smith, NLJ columnist & former director of JUSTICE. Newlawjournal.co.uk
Peter Kandler’s honorary KC is long overdue recognition of a man who opened the law to those it once shut out, writes Roger Smith
What is the point of a state adhering to the rule of law if it doesn’t talk about it? Roger Smith ponders a mysterious cancellation
On the frontlines of the rule of law: Roger Smith applauds the work of the Open Society Justice Initiative
Reading between the lines of the government’s latest review of the civil legal aid system, Roger Smith unearths the same old fundamental problems at its heart
It does proponents of the rule of law no harm to admit to its many uncertainties: Roger Smith warns against the temptation to oversimplify
Roger Smith on why he believes the model of civil legal aid developed as part of the post-war welfare state is bust
Roger Smith reflects on the radical vision that created law centres & left a lasting legacy
Roger Smith presents his five-step process for the perfect letter of action
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Keystone Law—Milena Szuniewicz-Wenzel & Ian Hopkinson
International arbitration team strengthened by double partner hire
Coodes Solicitors—Pam Johns, Rachel Pearce & Bradley Kaine
Firm celebrates trio holding senior regional law society and junior lawyers division roles
Michelman Robinson—Sukhi Kaler
Partner joins commercial and business litigation team in London
NEWS
The Legal Action Group (LAG)—the UK charity dedicated to advancing access to justice—has unveiled its calendar of training courses, seminars and conferences designed to support lawyers, advisers and other legal professionals in tackling key areas of public interest law
Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
Employment law is shifting at the margins. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ this week, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School examines a Court of Appeal ruling confirming that volunteers are not a special legal species and may qualify as ‘workers’
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
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