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13 December 2007 / Andrew Keogh
Issue: 7301 / Categories: Opinion
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The LSC Christmas Carol

Andrew Keogh brings a legal twist to a classic festive tale

Vera was politically dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of her downfall was signed by the lord chancellor, Derek, Richard, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge’s name was good upon ‘change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Vera was as dead as a doornail.

VERA’S GHOST

Scrooge knew she was dead? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise? Scrooge and she were partners for I don’t know how many years. Scrooge was her sole executor, her sole administrator, her sole assign, her sole residuary legatee, her sole friend, and her sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event.

“A merry Christmas, Scrooge! God save you!” cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Desmond bringing glad tidings and a sealed copy of the Court of Appeal judgment, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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