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11 June 2021
Issue: 7936 / Categories: Legal News , Equality , Human rights
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NLJ this week: What has happened to equality law?

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Is the Equality and Human Rights Commission still fit for purpose? What has happened to equality law? Writing in this week’s NLJ, Geoffrey Bindman QC, senior consultant, Bindmans, investigates the state of the equality enforcer.

He highlights severe cuts to the Commission’s budget, falling numbers of cases assisted, investigations and inquiries, and a historic (until six months ago) lack of ethnic minority members. Bindman also questions some of the choices made by the Commission’s leadership.

‘Why, for example, did the EHRC fail to challenge the Home Office’s “hostile environment” which led to the persecution of the so-called Windrush generation?’ He asks. He notes, moreover, that ‘in the whole of its history, the EHRC has launched only two investigations alleging unlawful conduct’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley strengthens family law team

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Construction lawyer returns to Ward Hadaway in Teesside role

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird Bird hires leading legal transformation expert

NEWS
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

How forcefully can a litigant criticise a public authority before robust advocacy crosses the line into unreasonable conduct? 
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