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Wi-fi justice, a Family court revolution and Fee-charging Friends...
Wi-fi justice
All criminal courts will be able to operate completely digitally by July 2016, according to Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green. The new “digital business model” was unveiled in April at Bromley Magistrates’ Court, the first to receive the wi-fi upgrade under new funding of £75m a year, in addition to £44m already budgeted for new IT programmes.
Family court revolution
April saw in the new combined family courts, 26-week time frames for children in care cases and compulsory mediation awareness. Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, said it marked “the largest reform of the family justice system any of us will see in our professional lifetimes... truly a cultural revolution.”
Fee-charging Friends
Fee-charging McKenzie Friends should be recognised as a “legitimate feature of the evolving legal services market”, according to the Legal Services Consumer Panel. Its study identified the growing market following the LASPO changes, with some providing legal advice and seeking right of audience in an individual case. Despite some evidence about poor courtroom and commercial practices, the Panel concluded that the access to justice benefits outweighed the risks and called on the sector “to develop a credible system of self-regulation to earn greater trust from judges, the legal profession and the general public alike”.
Wi-fi justice
All criminal courts will be able to operate completely digitally by July 2016, according to Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green. The new “digital business model” was unveiled in April at Bromley Magistrates’ Court, the first to receive the wi-fi upgrade under new funding of £75m a year, in addition to £44m already budgeted for new IT programmes.
Family court revolution
April saw in the new combined family courts, 26-week time frames for children in care cases and compulsory mediation awareness. Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, said it marked “the largest reform of the family justice system any of us will see in our professional lifetimes... truly a cultural revolution.”
Fee-charging Friends
Fee-charging McKenzie Friends should be recognised as a “legitimate feature of the evolving legal services market”, according to the Legal Services Consumer Panel. Its study identified the growing market following the LASPO changes, with some providing legal advice and seeking right of audience in an individual case. Despite some evidence about poor courtroom and commercial practices, the Panel concluded that the access to justice benefits outweighed the risks and called on the sector “to develop a credible system of self-regulation to earn greater trust from judges, the legal profession and the general public alike”.
Wi-fi justice, a Family court revolution and Fee-charging Friends...
The age of criminal responsibility, extreme weather and conflict resolution – plus, new protocol for reporting bullying at the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP discusses her decade as a trade union and employment law barrister, the demands of life as a Law Officer and the number one priority shaping her work. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
At least not that way, says Richard Paige
