April 2012

Judge champions marriage as the ideal family structure

Filed under Family law, Legal news, April 30, 2012 by , No Comments

A High Court judge is today formally launching his foundation aimed with putting a stop to Britain’s high divorce rates. Sir Paul Coleridge, who sits on the High Court Family Division, has said that couples are influenced by tabloids and their portrayal of Hollywood divorces.

“I am not knocking Hello! magazine. I read it frequently. I normally find people in there are within my court with a year or two.” (more…)

Automated kiosks on trial in London probation service pilot scheme

Filed under Criminal law, General legal information, Legal news, April 30, 2012 by , No Comments

Recently, the London Probation Trust announced it will trail a scheme that could see machines replace some face-to-face contact between probation officers and their clients.

Clients of the probation service include freed prisoners and those serving community orders. The Trust supervises around 45,000 such offenders in the community, throughout the boroughs of the capital. The six-month pilot scheme will apply to all types of offenders, including people who have been convicted of serious crimes such as paedophilia and murder. (more…)

Company blames benefits system for unmotivated jobseekers

Filed under Employment law, Legal news, April 27, 2012 by , No Comments

A small and expanding company in Kent thinks that the benefits system is too generous and makes it difficult for businesses to recruit. The company, Car Smart, had accepted seven jobseekers for telesales positions but they all failed to arrive on their first day of work.

Car Smart Sales Director, Carl Cooper, said that the potential employees complained of low salaries and poor weather for not turning up to their first day. Several of the new starters had told him that it was not financially beneficial for them to take on the job as they would earn more or less the same by staying on benefits. (more…)

Further legal protection for holidaymakers from April 30th

Filed under General legal information, Legal Advice, April 27, 2012 by , No Comments

New regulations come into force next week, which will address the way that the holiday industry has changed in the last 15 years. Specifically, the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL) scheme will be expanded in order to better protect consumers who personally book their holidays on-line.

This change in the secondary legislation is long overdue because the original ATOL scheme, for the protection of package-holidaymakers, has not been overhauled since 1995. The scheme provides that tourists from the UK can be refunded if their travel company goes into liquidation, or repatriated if they are stranded abroad. (more…)

Law firm fighting back against Government no-win, no-fee measures

Filed under Legal news, Personal injury claims, April 26, 2012 by , 1 Comment

The Government is looking to cut the availability of no-win, no-fee personal injury cases in order to put a stop to what they consider has become an over-litigious culture in Britain.

In response, a personal injury firm is now trying to encourage victims to make their claims by offering them money in advance. (more…)

Supreme Court ruling about retirement-age discrimination

Filed under Discrimination, Employment law, Legal news, April 26, 2012 by , No Comments

A partner in a Kent law firm has lost a final appeal at the Supreme Court, regarding his claim concerning a forced retirement at the age of 65. The appellant, Leslie Seldon, claimed he had been treated unfairly.

The outcome is of particular interest with regard to the way in which employers must justify discrimination against employees on the ground of age. (more…)

Continuing our series on alternative dispute resolution

Filed under Disputes, Legal Advice, April 25, 2012 by , No Comments

Part II: Mediation

We are currently running a series on alternative dispute resolution, and this week we are looking into mediation. This will be continued next week when we look closer at what types of disputes can be solved through this method. For last week’s opening blog, click here.

Mediation has become a very popular dispute-resolution method, particularly in family law. Mediation involves the parties sitting down with an independent third party who looks to find common ground between them. (more…)

Inquiry calls for new measures to protect children from online pornography

Filed under General legal information, Legal news, April 25, 2012 by , No Comments

The cross-party Independent Parliamentary Inquiry on Online Child Protection has recently reported that children are not sufficiently protected from viewing pornography on the internet. The inquiry gathered evidence from many interested parties; including children’s charities, academics, religious groups, and industry specialists.

The Chairwoman of the Inquiry, Claire Perry, said: “Our inquiry found that many children are easily accessing internet pornography as well as websites showing extreme violence or promoting self-harm and anorexia. This is hugely worrying.” (more…)

London house prices rise with the Olympics coming to town

Filed under General legal information, Legal news, Property law, April 24, 2012 by , No Comments

Living in London has always been expensive but with the Olympics round the corner prices have soared. This has not only attracted homeowners in the capital to temporarily let their property for the summer weeks and earn some extra money, but it is also leaving councils struggling with finding affordable accommodation for individuals on housing benefit.

Newham Council is finding it financially unviable to house tenants on its waiting list in private accommodation because the housing benefit is not high enough to cover private rents. The council is now looking for outside help. (more…)

Legal Services Board calls for will-writing to be regulated

Filed under Legal news, Wills and probate, April 24, 2012 by , 1 Comment

In 2011, the Legal Services Board (LSB), which regulates all solicitors in England and Wales, gave notice to the Lord Chancellor that it was going to conduct a statutory investigation regarding the will-writing, probate and estate administration services. There is currently no legislation covering who may write a will, this was a particular area of interest.

Prior to this notification, the LSB received advice from the Legal Services Consumer Panel, highlighting the fact that consumers who wish to make a will are often subjected to substandard services. (more…)

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