Legal News

Dubai?s golden sands lose their lustre

Posted on December 09, 2009
When the Dubai government announced at the end of last month that it was seeking a standstill on debt repayments by Dubai World it was regarded as a bombshell. As one City lawyer said: ?Normally in these situations there is a dialogue in advance with the creditors who have already been put in the picture about the problems...

Slope off with a good book this Christmas

Posted on December 09, 2009
Geoffrey Robertson

The best legal yarns this Christmas

Posted on December 09, 2009
Treat yourself this Christmas to a generous tumbler of eggnog, settle into a deep armchair before a roaring fire and crack open one of several new legal yarns.

Teenage Briton forced to leave the UK to live with her husband

Posted on December 07, 2009
A teenage couple in a genuine marriage have lost a High Court battle against a Government immigration policy aimed at combating forced marriages.

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Judge leaves court to calm down during case of ?abandoned? sick child

Posted on December 07, 2009
A senior family judge took the extraordinary step of leaving court to calm down because he was so angered by two local authorities who ?abandoned? a sick boy to save money.

Should Knox?s trial even have reached the courtroom?

Posted on December 07, 2009
What is it about Amanda Knox that leaves us so unsettled? Is it her outré sexuality, catalogued so faithfully by the media ever since, on November 6, 2007, she found herself implicated in the murder of her flatmate, Meredith Kercher? Was it the cartwheels and the splits that she apparently performed in a Perugia police station while awaiting police questioning? Perhaps, it?s no more complicated than her nickname: ?Foxy Knoxy?, redolent of enigmatic, Mona Lisa-like insouciance in the face of a tawdry, sordid, pitiful sex murder.

Unmarried couples need new legal rights, says reform judge

Posted on December 06, 2009
Two million unmarried couples need new legal rights to protect them from injustice if they separate, the new senior judge in charge of law reform has said.

Black fights conviction under ?honest services? law

Posted on December 06, 2009
Lord Black of Crossharbour, the disgraced media magnate, will appeal tomorrow in America?s highest court against his fraud conviction, in a case that could make it more difficult for regulators to prosecute the architects of the financial crisis.

Queen cracks down on paparazzi

Posted on December 05, 2009
AS the royal family look forward to their Christmas break at Sandringham in Norfolk the Queen is leading her family in a stand against what they consider to be the increasingly intrusive behaviour of paparazzi photographers.

Crash, bang, wallop, what a picture . . .

Posted on December 03, 2009
Next time you prang your car, do not be surprised if the driver or cyclist you have unfortunately hit takes out an iPhone and starts taking pictures of the scene.

Dubai World?s founding document shows UK banks were wrong to think emirate would guarantee loans

Posted on December 03, 2009
British banks, which could lose billions of dollars after lending money to Dubai World, were under the false impression that the debt would be guaranteed by the Dubai Government when they made the loans.

How BPP became the fashionable place for legal training

Posted on December 03, 2009
Its clunky name aside, BPP had become the fashionable place for high-flying lawyers to do their one-year vocational training as solicitors or barristers.

Law school BPP accused of exploiting demand to rake in more fees

Posted on December 03, 2009
One of London?s most prestigious law schools is under investigation amid allegations that it exploited student demand, packing in extra numbers to boost income by almost £1 million.

Axe may fall on 5,000 City lawyers in fresh round of cuts

Posted on December 02, 2009
Another 5,000 lawyers could find themselves out of work next year as City law firms undergo a new round of swingeing job cuts, bankers close to the profession have forecast.

OFT faces new legal fight as builders line up to challenge their fines for bid-rigging

Posted on December 02, 2009
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is facing another costly legal battle after 25 construction companies contested penalties imposed by the competition regulator for illegally inflating bids for building tenders.

When does a hobby become an employment issue?

Posted on December 02, 2009
A senior military analyst with the New York-based Human Rights Watch has been suspended while the organisation investigates his internet postings about his hobby of collecting Nazi and other war memorabilia.

Former ICI chairman wins right to evict ex-wife from £14m Chelsea home

Posted on December 02, 2009
A former chairman of ICI has won a court battle to evict his ex-wife from their ?super-prime? £14 million Chelsea home so that he can sell it.

Court of Appeal ruling means FSA can make a serious dent in market abuse - we have the power to prosecute offenders

Posted on December 02, 2009
It is rare for the Financial Services Authority to be accused of wielding too much power ? more frequently we are criticised for not doing enough.

When ministers take an 18 per cent pay cut, then we will be silent, says chairman-elect of the Bar Council

Posted on December 02, 2009
Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, had better watch out. Next year?s Bar chairman has the Crown Prosecution Service in his sights.

Why too much legal experience can subvert jury trial

Posted on December 02, 2009
Like quite a few other lawyers, recently I was called to do jury service. Apart from the inevitable waiting around (note: bring a thick book and a sense of humour), my two weeks were spent trying one serious case (alleged rape and false imprisonment).

Beresfords lawyers who profited from sick miners lose appeal

Posted on December 02, 2009
Two former lawyers whose firm earned £136 million by handling compensation claims for sick miners lost their appeal yesterday against being struck off for dishonesty.

Lawyer of the Week: Jonathan Peddie

Posted on December 02, 2009
Jonathan Peddie, the director of litigation and special investigations at Barclays Bank plc, had responsibility for the bank charges litigation that arose out of an Office of Fair Trading investigation, where the Supreme Court ruled that bank charges are exempt from being assessed for fairness under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999.

Terror suspects cannot be held on ?secret evidence?, High Court rules

Posted on December 01, 2009
Terror suspects cannot be denied bail on the basis of secret evidence after a landmark High Court ruling yesterday that dealt another blow to the Government?s counter-terrorism regime.

Morgan Crucible?s former chief, Ian Norris, goes to top court in US extradition fight

Posted on November 30, 2009
A retired company chief executive launched a last-ditch challenge against his extradition to the United States yesterday before a panel of Britain?s most senior judges.

British Library to return Benevento Missal under Nazi loot law

Posted on November 30, 2009
A medieval book is to become the first item from a British national museum to be returned to its rightful owners under a new law governing looted artefacts.

Michael Ematuwo, 14, given six years for killing Jahmal Mason-Blair

Posted on November 30, 2009
A 14-year-old boy who killed a friend was ordered to be detained for six years yesterday under tougher guidelines on knife crime issued by the Lord Chief Justice.

Last hope for Gary McKinnon as court hears Ian Norris extradition appeal

Posted on November 29, 2009
Britain?s highest court will hear a test challenge today that to extradite a retired businessman to the United States would be a breach of his human rights.

Lord Lester's plan to halt libel abuse

Posted on November 28, 2009
REFORMS designed to end abuses of the libel laws which jeopardise freedom of speech could be on the statute book within months under a plan which is attracting cross-party support.

Prince Charles named in £81m Chelsea Barracks court battle

Posted on November 28, 2009
The Candy brothers, property developers for the super-rich, want to call the Prince of Wales as a witness in an £81m case in which they are suing the Qatari royal family over the collapse of their plans to build Britain?s most expensive residential block.

New Dresdner bonus claim in High Court

Posted on November 27, 2009
A second group of former Dresdner Kleinwort bankers is suing the investment bank for millions of pounds in withheld bonuses. The group of 21 bankers filed a High Court claim for ?16 million (£14.5 million) yesterday, only two months after a 72-strong group launched a similar claim for ?34 million.

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