header-logo header-logo

Unhappy New Year

comment1_4

Chris Bryden & Michael Salter start 2011 by batting off derogatory claims

As the clock turns to 2011 yet another salvo is fired in the ongoing battle against lawyers and their kind. This time the target was firmly trained on employment lawyers, with an article in The Times on 4 January 2011 by Helen Giles, an HR director, which was excoriating in its account of the “legal extortion” practised by employment tribunals and the “parasitical” lawyers bringing claims therein.

The authors make no secret of the fact that one of them practises exclusively in the field of employment while employment law represents a significant part of that of the other. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that the “parasites” might wish to respond. However, notwithstanding the vested interest of the authors in the practice of employment law, the position set out by Ms Giles in her article is not recognised by these practitioners.

False

In parts the article is simply wrong. For instance in proposing reform it advocates that

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll