Government

On the bonfire - moves to burn up the UK's competition regime divide lawyers

By Legal Week | September 21, 2011

It looks like it's almost a done deal. Among antitrust advisers, the expectation is that it is only a matter of time before the Government makes good on its proposal to merge the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) with the Competition Commission (CC).

1 minute read

Might wasn't right - 9/11's lasting legal legacy

By Alex Novarese | September 14, 2011

It was probably inevitable from the moment the two aeroplanes struck the Twin Towers a decade ago that the world was about to face a period in which the competing interests of security and liberty – two issues that go to the heart of the law's role in society – would come into prolonged conflict. The former of these interests was dominant in the five years after the attacks as the US and UK pushed on with a legally controversial conflict and ushered in a series of aggressive anti-terrorism measures. In the process, the US often sought to recast terrorism in legal terms applied to war rather than criminal procedures.

1 minute read

After the impact - how 9/11 is still affecting the legal market

By Legal Week | September 14, 2011

Just days after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, then Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor kept a longstanding commitment to help dedicate a new building at New York University (NYU) School of Law. She visited Ground Zero first and told her NYU audience: "I am still tearful from that glimpse." O'Connor went on to predict: "The trauma that our nation suffered will and already has altered our way of life, and it will cause us to re-examine some of our laws pertaining to criminal surveillance, wiretapping, immigration and so on… As a result, we are likely to experience more restrictions on our personal freedom than has ever been the case in our country."

1 minute read

Weightmans wins new client mandate for regional NHS Trust

By Simon Petersen | August 24, 2011

Weightmans has won The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust as a new client for its healthcare and corporate practices. The firm won the Trust as a new client through a competitive tender process carried out under a new framework agreement.

1 minute read

A stark choice - Government planning reform comes in for criticism

By Legal Week | August 3, 2011

The Government's planning reform has come in for criticism as it attempts to strike a balance between economic growth and localism. Will the new National Planning Policy Framework do the job? Hogan Lovells' Michael Gallimore and Harry Spurr report

1 minute read

Relief for English lawyers as Supreme Court backs right to choose arbitrator's nationality

By Suzi Ring | August 3, 2011

London's position as a global centre for arbitration has been reaffirmed following a Supreme Court ruling that nationality and religion can be used as criteria in the selection and appointment of arbitrators. In a landmark judgment handed down last week, the Supreme Court confirmed that arbitrators are not employees and therefore fall outside of UK equality laws.

1 minute read

Does the 'pro-business' US Supreme Court really favour corporations?

By Legal Week | July 27, 2011

The US Supreme Court's recent rulings call into question whether it really favours corporations. Tony Mauro reports

1 minute read

United fronts - the legal profession needs a more unified voice

By Alex Novarese | July 27, 2011

One of the themes emerging from this week's extended look at the sweeping reform of legal aid currently going through Parliament is that lawyers in general struggle to mount effective campaigns for worthwhile shifts in public policy. In the case of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Lawyers aren't that popular on the Clapham omnibus and that kind of painfully complex reform is very difficult to energise debate with. This political reality is why legal aid, despite being a relatively tiny slice of social provision, has seen its budget already curtailed considerably during the last decade – its current £2.1bn level actually peaked in real terms 10% higher back in 2003-04. All this before the Government gears up to knock another £350m annually off the budget via a huge withdrawal of civil legal aid.

1 minute read

Under pressure - are the legal aid cuts tough love or political expediency?

By Friederike Heine | July 27, 2011

The statement issued on 21 June by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was headed: 'Clarke: Plans outlined to reduce reoffending'. Those who read the opening paragraphs of the press notice, and indeed followed through to the middle section, would have understood that his announcement related to what the Government billed as a "radical plan to reduce reoffending".

1 minute read

City lawyers size up US-style success fees – but concern grows over legal aid cuts

By Suzi Ring | June 29, 2011

City law firms are assessing the prospects for using damage-based billing arrangements (DBAs) for complex litigation following the Government's near-wholesale adoption of the Jackson reforms included in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill last week. The bill, which fell in line with previous consultations, is expected to see City law firms experiment with DBAs for high value disputes as demand for alternative billing methods increases.

1 minute read

The Recorder

California Falls Short on Tracking Illegal Cannabis, Appellate Court Says

By Cheryl Miller | August 2, 2023

A Fourth District Court of Appeal panel said the state hasn't met its legal obligations to create a database that flags potentially illegal cannabis sales.

3 minute read

Law.com

'I Need to Talk to an Attorney:' Idaho Man Denied Relief Despite Miranda Violation, Federal Judge Holds

By Marianna Wharry | August 2, 2023

"This Court reaches its conclusion with deep misgivings," U.S. District Judge for the District of Idaho B. Lynn Winmill wrote. "Vega denies individuals like Dr. Moore the ability to seek a remedy for violations of their Fifth Amendment right to counsel. In so doing, '[t]he majority here, as elsewhere, injures the right by denying the remedy.' It is illogical and perverse to insist that the Constitution guarantees a right while stripping the people of their ability to hold government officials civilly accountable for violating it."

4 minute read

National Law Journal

'The Stakes Could Not Be Higher': Legal Community Reacts to Trump Indictment

By Abigail Adcox | August 2, 2023

Many in the legal community, from Big Law partners to retired judges, underscored the gravity of Trump's latest indictment.

5 minute read

Daily Business Review

Eleventh Circuit: 15-Year Mandatory Minimum Sentence Vacated Over 'Serious Drug Offense' Qualification Under ACCA

By Mason Lawlor | August 2, 2023

"We disagree," Brasher wrote. "We have held that an offense is a 'serious drug offense' under Section 924(e)(2)(A (ii) if it proscribes one of the kinds of conduct listed in that section, i.e., 'manufacturing' distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture or distribute." United States v. Penn, 63 F.4th 1305, 1316 (11th Cir. 2023). But possessing a listed chemical with reasonable cause to believe it will be used to manufacture is not itself 'manufacturing.' Likewise, this offense does not 'involv[e] manufacturing' as we have previously defined that term."

5 minute read

Daily Business Review

Florida Supreme Court Modifies Professionalism, CLE Rules

By Michael A. Mora | August 2, 2023

The Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints and the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar are undergoing some changes.

3 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Court Slams Door as Litigants Rush to Change Venue Amid Judge Shortage

By Charles Toutant | August 1, 2023

"One of the good things that came out of this decision is that some actual guidelines were set forth to start evaluating which cases might actually fall within that exemption," said Edward Rebenack, who represented plaintiffs seeking a change in venue.

4 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

'A Real Loss to New Jerseyans': Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver Has Died at 71, Served as Acting Gov. Prior to Hospitalization

By Colleen Murphy | August 1, 2023

"When I selected her to be my running mate in 2017, Lt. Gov. Oliver was already a trailblazer in every sense of the word," Gov. Phil Murphy said. "She had already made history as the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of the General Assembly, and just the second Black woman in the nation's history to lead a house of a state legislature. I knew then that her decades of public service made her the ideal partner for me to lead the state of New Jersey. It was the best decision I ever made."

5 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

NJ Issues Guidance on Discrimination Law Following 'Misguided' SCOTUS LGBTQ+ Rights Decision

By Colleen Murphy | August 1, 2023

"The Supreme Court's misguided decision in 303 Creative does not change a simple fact: New Jersey's laws remain among the strongest in the nation for protecting people, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, against bias and discrimination," said Platkin. "Our commitment to enforcing those laws and ensuring our residents' rights to fair treatment remains unwavering."

3 minute read

Daily Business Review

4 South Florida Lawyers Disciplined by State Supreme Court

By Michael A. Mora | August 1, 2023

The punishments range from permanent disbarment to a 30-day suspension.

3 minute read

Law.com

Rhode Island Probate Judge Charged Over Alleged Role in Stealing Sports Cards, Firearms From Estate

By Riley Brennan | August 1, 2023

"Certain items removed from Barbieri's home were taken to the home of PRISCILLA FACHA DIMARIO and Attorney 1 in Johnston, Rhode Island. These items included cash, tools, vintage adult magazines, and collectible toy cars, trucks and trains. Many of these items were returned to Barbieri's Estate on or about June 2, 2021," the indictment said about a sitting probate judge and her husband.

4 minute read