Legal News

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Burnett of Maldon, and the Senior President of Tribunals, Sir Keith Lindblom, have issued a joint press release announcing a change in the practice of how certain judges should be addressed in court or tribunal hearings. 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Legal Aid Agency and Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, have announced that solicitors will see a further £21m investment in fees and long-term reforms and an extra £138m will be spent annually on legal aid ‘to ensure long-term sustainability’. 

The Law Society of England and Wales has welcomed the final report from the City of London’s Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce which outlines its five-point pathway of tangible steps for organisations in the financial and professional services sector to achieve socio-economic diversity at senior leadership level. 

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has issued service guides for local authorities or their solicitors using MyHMCTS to make a family public law order application. 

Professor Marc Weller provides a fascinating insight into the Supreme Court’s ruling that Westminster’s permission is required before a referendum on Scottish independence can go ahead. Professor Weller, of Cambridge University, examines the case, in this week’s NLJ.

‘Depicting the ECHR and HRA 1998 as alien intrusions undermining British sovereignty is historically illiterate,’ Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC writes in this week’s NLJ. Bindman asks: ‘What is behind this assault on the judiciary, the ECHR and HRA 1998?’

To what extent do the rules of the profession apply to non-solicitor employees? More than you may think. In this week’s NLJ, John Gould, senior partner at Russell-Cooke, writes: ‘Surprisingly, every employee within a firm is a regulated person whether or not they are personally engaged in reserved legal activity.’

Closed proceedings and covert medication? A recent case has created alarm. Is the Court of Protection too secretive? Are sufficient safeguards in place? In the first of a two-part series in NLJ, Dr Laura Davidson, of No5 Chambers, looks into a recent case concerning a vulnerable 20-year-old.

Falling out and making up again—what happens when a couple get divorced then reconcile? Writing in this week’s NLJ, family law solicitor-advocate and NLJ columnist, David Burrows looks at the legal implications of this rom-com scenario.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published guidance on court fees under the new small claims track limit in personal injury claims relating to road traffic accidents.