Rape victim Julia Mason’s ordeal in court last week at the hands of her attacker has put the spotlight on a defendant’s right to self-representation. The case illustrates the dilemma when the rights of the defendant and the rights of the victim conflict. It is an issue already tackled in the case of victims of […]
Michael Ashe QC was born in Hendon on 10 March 1949. He is now a barrister at 11 Stone Buildings. What was your first job? Civil servant, Estate Duty Office, Inland Revenue. What was your first ever salary as a lawyer? First brief fee £15. What would you have done if you hadn’t become a […]
Olswang advised drinks machines group Selector on its flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) which raised £3 million of new money. Olswang also acted for Xaar
“The outcome of this case has more meaning to the plaintiff than a sum of money, because the defendants claim to have been entitled to dismiss her summarily because she is alleged to have smacked a child.” The judge added: “What school is likely to employ her in the future in the light of that […]
Tony Holland (Viewpoint The Lawyer 13 August) asks whether he is the only person who has noticed the importance of the CPS and feels concern for his future. He is not. I fully share his concern. The CPS is an essential pivot in the magistrates courts system. Cuts to its budget affect not only workload, […]
In April this year The Lawyer’s forthcoming case section highlighted a county court case in which 59-year-old leading huntsman Brian Fanshawe, retired master and huntsman of Leicestershire’s Cottesmore Hunt, was being sued for compensation by hunt saboteur Martin Casbon, who claimed he was deliberately trampled by Fanshawe’s horse. Solicitor Mike McNally, of Tunbridge Wells firm […]
North London teenager Simon Zekaria is suing the University of Cambridge for damages over low grades received for his English Literature GCSE exams two years ago. When the case gets to court he will accuse the university of failing to mark his papers fairly and with reasonable skill and care. He claims he has been […]
Lewis Silkin acted for John East & Partners as nominated adviser to London & Edinburgh Publishing in connection with the placing of 13.9 million shares at 10p each and its admission to the AIM.
Bruce Springsteen has joined the pop persona currently beating a trail to the High Court. He has launched action over what he claims are illicit recordings of previously unreleased songs presented on a double album, Unearthed. Springsteen is suing Flute International, based in Clifton, Bristol, and Robert Tringham, of Potters Bar, seeking damages. He is […]
Lawyers in Canada must become more attuned to clients and more focused on early settlement of disputes, according to a Canadian Bar Association inquiry which calls for sweeping reforms of the country’s justice system. A 100-page report on the reform of Canada’s civil justice system, compiled by the CBA’s Task Force on Systems of Civil […]
Tony Girling this week hinted at the possibility of a shake-up in the way budgets are set at Chancery Lane. The Law Society presid-ent’s aim is to ensure enough money reaches services earmarked as priorities as he believes the current system of fixed budgets for each directorate may be “too inflexible”. He said: “We need […]
Two City law firms acting in a pro bono capacity have helped to save the lives of two Caribbean death row prisoners. Nabarro Nathanson civil litigation specialist George Brown helped persuade the UK Privy Council to overturn a death sentence imposed on a Trinidad man convicted of murder. And in a separate case Simmons & […]