Judicial review is grabbing the headlines again following the recent High Court decision that the calculation of the release dates of prisoners serving concurrent sentences had been unlawfully applied by the prison service for the past 30 years. The judgment was a further blow to Home Secretary Michael Howard, coming as it did after the […]
Chris Fogarty One Garden Court has established one of the largest family law sets in the UK after the defection of nine specialist barristers from 22 Old Buildings. The move strengthens One Garden Court to 41 tenants and leaves 22 Old Buildings, a broad-based common law set, with 22 tenants. The nine are citing the […]
A hearing is expected early next year in a major farm land pollution test case. The action will centre on Government policies relating to nitrate levels in drinking water. Mr Justice Harrison has given a group of 140 farmers from Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk leave to challenge the policies. The farmers claim these are causing […]
Linda Tsang A CHAMBERS which has just been awarded an international quality standard has called on the Bar Council to boost the credibility of its own quality standards scheme by policing compliance to it. The Chambers of James Hunt QC believes it is the first set to have been awarded the ISO 9002 quality standard. […]
Media law firm The Simkins Partnership has set up a web site with what are believed to be the first personalised partner feedback forms. The forms lets users contact partners personally by e-mail, allowing them to ask specialist partners for more detailed information about topics of interest. The site includes a ‘Hot News’ page detailing […]
Claims for damages for wrongful detention Jeanette Ann Olotu v (1) Secretary of State for the Home Department (2) the Crown Prosecution Service (1996) CA (Lord Bingham CJ, Auld LJ and Mummery LJ) 29/11/9Summary: Claims against the Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service for damages for wrongful detention where plaintiff’s time in detention exceeded […]
I don’t want to overreact to what may have been intended as a humorous article by Charlotte Cochrane in the supplement on Expert Witnesses (The Lawyer 19 November), but I have to say our experience of acting as expert witnesses for the prosecution or defence in criminal cases and for plaintiffs and defendants in civil […]
I BELIEVE that the dispensing of justice is the most important role of government in a civilised society. From the pie poudre courts of mediaeval England to today, the ability to solve disputes in a civilised way is essential to the maintenance of safety and order in this country. The question is: what should the […]
Big Six accountancy firm Ernst & Young’s disclosure last week of its financial position is to be welcomed for a number of reasons. Although cynics will suggest that it is motivated purely by the prospect of limited liability status, transparency is nonetheless to be encouraged, if only to let clients see the type of institution […]
Gary Moss is a partner at Taylor Joynson Garrett. The recent Patents Court case of SBM v Brown Brothers and Company and Vickers (1996) was notable for two reasons. First, less than six months elapsed between the issuing of the writ and the trial. Second, in acceding to the defendants’ request for an order for […]
As one of the first of the LPC graduates of 1994 and one who has been unable to find a training contract, I was interested to read Tony Holland’s article in The Lawyer 19 November. I am a mature candidate with a wealth of experience in discrimination law. It is a sad state of affairs […]
Herbert Smith advised the Norfolk & Norwich Health Care NHS Trust on its signing of a £193m PFI project to build a hospital for Norwich, the first health sector PFI project. Contractor Octagon Healthcare was advised by DJ Freeman.