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08 June 2017 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7749 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services
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Promises, promises…an encore (Pt 4)

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Jon Robins returns with some surprising news from UKIP & a justice update from Plaid Cymru & the Lib Dems

Here is a question for a legal pub quiz: which political party promised to repeal the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) in the 2017 general election?

NLJ readers who have followed articles on the manifesto commitments of the main political parties over the last month (see links below) might, through a process of elimination, make an informed guess. The startling answer is UKIP. 
In this the last manifesto review, I look at the election promises of the smaller political parties. We sent out a short questionnaire to the parties asking for their views on the burning issues for lawyers as we approached Thursday’s poll including the personal-injury reforms; the desirability of late-night courts; access to justice and legal aid; and their views on the Human Rights Act.

A singular vision

Last week Paul Nuttall launched his party’s singular vision for the future featuring manifesto commitments to

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London

DWF—Stephen Hickling

DWF—Stephen Hickling

Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Firm invests in national growth with 44 appointments across five offices

NEWS
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
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
Operational resilience is no longer optional. Writing in NLJ this week, Emma Radmore and Michael Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson explain how UK regulators expect firms to identify ‘important business services’ that could cause ‘intolerable levels of harm’ if disrupted
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’
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
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