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The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and the Animal Law Program at The George Washington University Law School (GW) are
In an increasingly digital world, building and sustaining a successful legal practice is no longer dependent solely on traditional word-of-mouth
By Amanda Hamilton, Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP) In the UK, paralegals are not subject to
Divorce is a profoundly personal and often painful chapter in life. For many men in the UK, navigating the emotional,
Compassionate and Expert Legal Support for Life’s Most Sensitive Matters Family law issues—whether related to divorce, child arrangements, or financial
Support for Dads and Mums Going Through Separation & Divorce Going through a divorce or separation is never easy—especially when
Last month, we were mentioned in the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland by Iain Nisbet of Govan Law Centre, who himself runs a Scots law blawg at http://absolvitor.com/. Given that this website was created only in June 2010, this is to be considered a great achievement at what is still just the beginning of this blawg’s journey through the blawgosphere, alongside the other 10 great Scots blawggers mentioned and the blawgging world as a whole. The extract from the Journal Online is as follows:-
Tommy Sheridan has been jailed for three years following his conviction in December of committing perjury during his News of the World defamation action. In sentencing Sheridan, Lord Bracadale said “By pursuing a defamation action against the News of the World, you brought the walls of the temple crashing down”
The Supreme Court has on Tuesday 26 October 2010 held that Scots law breaches the right to a fair trial under Art 6 ECHR by not allowing lawyers to advise detainees in Police stations. The case, on appeal, is called Cadder. This is a big day for Scots law.
Will we see more traineeships being opened up? Will equity partners earn even more than their hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds each year? Or will equity partners be more likely to sell their stake and escape the practice of law? What effect for management decisions? Will we see greater outsourcing? Will cloud computing be more fully embraced? Will Lawsoft’s stranglehold on legal software be broken up? Will Scots law merge into English law, or will it flourish more by itself?
WardblawG supports the ECtHR move in its entirety and wishes Ms Allison Walls the best of luck. May Justitia swing her sword in her favour.
Good news! I have been charged only £5.00 for going 70p into the red. Perhaps fair because the bank was paying its own cash to cover the unauthorised overdraft.
As the WardblawG surpasses the 5000 hit mark after only 3 weeks, I have now included two permanent RSS feeds at either side of this blog to “Scots Law” and “Scottish Law” through Google News, which highlight excerpts from quality articles discussing the most recent developments in Scots law, such as through the Scotsman’s or the Herald’s legal journalists.
Similar Google News feeds, as I have already mentioned , can be used to keep track of different clients, industries, technologies, law, and even matters or disputes: A little more action, a little less bark (from clients) and a lot more spark!
Comment
In the author’s personal opinion, it is time for the courts and, perhaps, government to stop sitting on the fence with legal argument that lends itself to squeaky clean judges’ desks. It is quite clear that the public has noted its concern. They realise, (or at least should realise by now!), that banks are businesses unlike any other. And, while the banks might enjoy the benefits of having large capital reserves, somewhat questionable following the recession, the Scottish and, indeed, the British public expect them to be treated as such in the legal systems of the UK. This effective immunity from suit should seriously be reconsidered and, the author hopes, soon.
How to Claim despite Walls being breached
Consumers may be best advised to take the recent shock wave of Allison Walls v Santander with a pinch of salt: there are certain steps, including those from moneysavingexpert.com, which are still worth considering:-
1. Send a style letter and send to the bank;
2. If unsuccessful and the bank continues to charge, send a different style letter to the Financial Ombudsman;
3. If still unsuccessful, consult a reputable solicitor and take the bank to court, but be prepared for considerable legal expenses and long, drawn out proceedings.
Banks would be best advised not to get complacent: a battle may have been won; but the war, most certainly, is not over.
I think many solicitors and students would like to see at least also business management, communication, leadership and motivation, or at least such soft skills, taught either separately on the diploma or the PCC, or more emphatically through the practice management course within the Diploma.
There should be a fundamental distinction between brilliant lawyering and brilliant management, which should be appreciated by all Diploma students and graduates.
The relatively recent case of Education 4 Ayrshire Ltd v South Ayrshire Council [2009] CSOH 146, CA37/09, concerns the issue of what happens when a contract clearly provides how and when a notice of delay or claims should be given but the parties do not follow the precise form of the notice provisions.
A good theoretical decision in favour of pacta sunt servanda and adherence to what the parties have agreed strictly, it has to be wondered whether this is the right practical decision given that effectively notice, albeit in a different form, had been given. Certainly, I have seen this decision take effect on elements of a recent multimillion pound NPD project, which may have delayed the deal.
The case serves as an important lesson for contractors, not just those involved in PPP / PFI, to take special notice of notice requirements under contracts.
Written by two US law school professors, it portrays, in no uncertain terms, a rather bleak picture of the landscape of the legal and other top professions…And that was in 2005!
The alpha of any species, by inherent definition, is able to adapt quickly and well to change. It’s now time for lawyers, firms and the profession as a whole to adopt that alpha mentality; for many, it’s time to sink or swim.
With firms and professionals across the UK welcoming web 2.0, which includes new online technologies such as blogs, RSS feeds and even Twitter, so comes the inception, and, I’d like to think, conception of Scotslawblog.com, formerly WardblawG.com.
Founded by me, Gavin Ward, a trainee solicitor at a Scottish firm in Edinburgh, qualifying in August 2010, former tutor and published author in the Juridical Review, this shall be a new platform for me and, indeed, my colleagues and peers across Scotland and beyond, to discuss, in an open environment without too much fence-sitting, the most important and relevant legal and commercial updates affecting Scottish businesses and law firms, together with other topics of interest to the legal profession.
I hope this creates as much contribution and success as the effort I ,and my colleagues, put into it!
Gavin Ward, 23 June 2010