Features

The Secret Barrister has to dig deep to find the few scraps marked ‘justice’ but unearths four things we can learn from the parties’ pledges  

General election manifesto launches often cast the criminal justice system in the role of the naughty child of Christmas lore.  

As the general election pauses the planned whiplash reforms, Robert Weir QC examines the winners and losers, implications for personal injury litigation and disproportionate impact on the junior Bar  

Twenty years ago, it was commonplace for pupils and new tenants to cut their teeth on crime, family and personal injury work.  

The art of writing a good reference  

‘A critic should be taught to criticise a work of art without making any reference to the personality of the author.’ – Oscar Wilde 

Election fraud is kept in check by strict rules of conduct but rare cases exist, as Richard Price OBE QC explains 

Candidates at parliamentary and local elections must ensure they are not guilty of a raft of election offences, known as corrupt and illegal practices.  

Do we need a strong and stable government – or just a strong and stable Parliament? Professor Jeff King analyses the constitutional problems generated by the Prime Minister’s decision to go to the polls early  

As a result of the forthcoming general election, the new Parliament – and hence government – will remain in place until May 2022.  

The law on limitation directions – a useful tool for junior litigators attempting to restore companies to the register – has finally been anchored down by the courts. Ben Harding reports on the practical effect  

A limitation direction restoring dissolved companies to the register is an oft-used tool for parties seeking relief after wrongful conduct comes to light.  

Drivers, couriers and freelance plumbers: have the leaks in employment protection been repaired? Chris Milsom reports  

The inclusion in the spring Budget of a rise in tax rates and national insurance contributions for the self-employed furrowed many brows during its short lifetime.  

Luke Robins-Grace weighs up what justice should be worth at election time  

Justice is not a commodity but as the saying goes: you get what you pay for, and most people would agree that the price recent governments have been prepared to pay for our system of justice does not reflect its value to society.  

Inspired by Chaucer’s great poem and calling for an end to indefinite detention, this year’s Refugee Tales embarks from Runnymede. Join all or part of an uplifting journey, writes Josephine Henderson  

The Chairman’s Column on indefinite immigration detention in the March issue of Counsel  sparked huge interest, and readers may also be interested to know about a walk from Runnymede to Westminster from 1 to 5 July 2017.  

Why do defendants make false confessions? Simon Ralph looks at troubling trends in the interrogation of vulnerable individuals and what can be learned from the United States  

‘No good, crooked mother*******!’