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27 January 2011
Issue: 7450 / Categories: Legal News
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Soliciting appointments

JAC & the Law Society take action to encourage solicitor judges

The number of solicitors joining the judiciary is increasing but more needs to be done, according to the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).

The JAC and the Law Society launched a joint plan last week to support solicitor applicants, including a series of outreach events across the country, tailored to the 2011/12 selection programme.

The Law Society will highlight issues facing solicitors, when it chairs the JAC diversity forum, and will run practical workshops to support aspiring solicitor judges to prepare for the selection process as well as launching support materials online. The JAC will develop its online material for solicitors.

Research by the JAC and Ministry of Justice into the appointment of solicitor judges over the past ten years show that more solicitors have been selected to senior judicial posts since 2006, when JAC launched, than before.

Some 95% of district judge (magistrates’ courts) appointees are solicitors under JAC, compared with 62% before. The proportion of solicitor recorders in the Northern, North Eastern and Welsh circuits rose

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Commercial firm strengthens real estate disputes team with associate hire

Switalskis—three appointments

Switalskis—three appointments

Firm appoints three directors to board

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Six promoted to partner and one to legal director across UK and Ireland offices

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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