THIS ISSUE
Peter Vaines puts HMRC in the dock & expects the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth
Ian Smith gets on his bike post-Christmas to deliver a welcome refresher course for employment geeks & those with a general interest
David Burrows shares his reflections on some of the many outstanding cases & achievements of ‘Judge Brenda’*
The Government’s legal programme does not answer the concerns of the profession’s leaders & may threaten judicial independence, says Geoffrey Bindman
‘Philosophical belief’ is an employment ‘area to watch’, following a high-profile case on ethical veganism
Lawyers have predicted a growth in class actions in banking litigation this year as well as disputes concerning the replacement of LIBOR, the interest rate used when banks lend to each other, by SONIA
More than 600 individuals were convicted for tax crimes last year, HMRC has revealed
Law firms are investing heavily in online marketing but continue to suffer from lack of focus and poor prospect targeting
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Freeths—Rachel Crosier
Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London
Bird & Bird—Gordon Moir
London tech and comms team boosted by telecoms and regulatory hires
DWF—Stephen Hickling
Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner
NEWS
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
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’
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