NEWS IN BRIEF

Lord Hunt needs your views
The Law Society is urging solicitors to take part in Lord Hunt’s Law Society-commissioned review into legal services regulation. Lord Hunt is looking for evidence from the entire legal profession, and its clients, and has published a formal Call for Evidence document. Its initial three-month consultation period will end on 9 April 2009. More information is available at the Legal Regulation Reviews website www.legalregulationreview.org.uk/evidence.html.
Hacker can apply for judicial review
British hacker Gary McKinnon, who is facing extradition to the US over charges he hacked into military computers at the Pentagon, was granted leave last week by the High Court to bring a judicial review hearing, likely to take place in March. McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, admits hacking into 97 US government computers including the US Navy and Nasa while searching for classified documents on UFOs. The director of public prosecutions is separately considering his request that he be tried in the UK rather than the US.
Change for tribunals
Kevin Sadler has been appointed the new chief executive of the Tribunals Service, and took up his post on 5 January. The Service now consists of 30 jurisdictions, most of which are being brought into a simplified twotier system consisting of a first tier and an upper tribunal, as part of a programme of reform. Previously, Sadler was director of strategic planning and performance at the Ministry of Justice and change director at the Department for Constitutional Affairs.