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13 September 2012 / David Greene
Issue: 7529 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services
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Six months & counting...

David Greene counts down to the civil justice “Big Bang”

Slowly, slowly, the threads of the Jackson reforms are being entwined but there is much yet to do to determine the final product which is likely to lead to a very busy three months to the end of year when everything has to be in place for implementation by next April. The result is that, at the moment, there remains much uncertainty as to how the product will look. This is of considerable importance to those who trade in the particular areas affected by changes. Further the first sneakings of a potential costs war surrounding the changes are becoming evident.

The changes at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) with the replacement of Ken Clarke by Chris Grayling are unlikely to make much difference to the civil justice reforms. Chris Grayling becomes the first non-lawyer as Lord Chancellor. Possibly a non-lawyer will have less sympathy with the profession and may drive the costs cutting exercise somewhat harder. Interestingly, however, the junior changes are likely to

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NEWS
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
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
Employment law is shifting at the margins. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ this week, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School examines a Court of Appeal ruling confirming that volunteers are not a special legal species and may qualify as ‘workers’
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’
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