Magistrates call for fewer online hearings after defendant tuned in while having a bath April 13, 2022 The rise of remote hearings in magistrates’ courts saw defendants tune into tribunals while having a bath, a new report from the Magistrates Association has said. The use of video calls during the pandemic saw some defendants show a “complete lack of respect” for the court, by appearing “half-naked” and treating the process like “social [...]
Ex-DeepMind employee says AI firm sought to ‘salvage’ its reputation instead of dealing with complaints April 13, 2022 A former DeepMind employee has hit out at the Alphabet owned firm for seeking to “discredit” her in a bid to “salvage” its own reputation, after she accused the AI developer of mishandling multiple sexual misconduct complaints. In an open letter, the former DeepMind employee – referred to only as Julie – said the [...]
Divorce filings boom as ‘no-fault’ laws come into force April 13, 2022 The introduction of new “no-fault” divorce laws has led to a surge in the number of couples filing for divorces, new government figures show. Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service has confirmed it has received around 3,000 divorce applications in the past week, compared to averages of 2,072 applications a week last year. For comparison, [...]
Slaughter and May ups pay for new lawyers to £115,000 a year as talent war rages on April 12, 2022 Slaughter & May has given its newly-qualified lawyers a seven per cent pay rise after upping their salaries to heights of £115,000. The pay hike will see Slaughter & May’s NQs see their salaries jump from current rates of £107,500 to £115,000 a year from May. Slaughter & May also said it would pay out [...]
London lawyer denies charges of tipping off client ahead of money-laundering probe April 12, 2022 A Canada solicitor, accused of forging a legal letter and tipping off a client about a money laundering investigation, is set to stand on trial after denying both counts. William Osmond, founder of Canada law firm Osmond Solicitors, entered not guilty pleas on one count of forgery and one count of [...]
EU court expands scope of flight refund policy to non-EU airlines April 12, 2022 The EU’s highest court has expanded the scope of its flight refund policy, by allowing passengers to claim refunds from non-EU airlines. The European Court of Justice ruled in favour of plaintiffs suing Chicago headquartered firm United Airlines in allowing them to claim a refund for a 223-minute delay between Brussels and San Jose, [...]
Barrister numbers plummeted during Covid-19 as earnings dropped 23 per cent April 11, 2022 The Bar Council has said urgent investment is needed to “keep the criminal justice system afloat” after publishing new data showing barristers suffered heavily during Covid-19. The total number of barristers working in full-time publicly funded positions dropped by more than 10 per cent from 2,670 in 2019-20 to 2,400 in 2020-21, the Bar Council [...]
Lawyers struggle to get government permission to let sanctioned Russians pay legal fees April 11, 2022 LAWYERS working for sanctioned oligarchs are floundering in their efforts to get paid for their work, due to struggles in obtaining permission from the UK government to let their sanctioned clients pay. The UK government has received 15 separate applications for permission to temporarily lift sanctions so that sanctioned Russian clients are able to pay their [...]
Mishcon de Reya strikes deal with UCL to fund research into Artificial Intelligence (AI) April 11, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has struck a deal with UCL to fund research into use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal sector. Mishcon’s decision to fund research into AI comes as the firm now believes AI technology will revolutionise the legal sector and transform the ways that lawyers work. In striking a [...]
Tory backbencher calls on government to close ‘loopholes’ letting London firms work for the Kremlin April 11, 2022 Tory backbencher Kevin Hollinrake has called on the government to close the “loopholes” that have allowed UK professional services firms to continue carrying out bankruptcy proceedings on behalf of the Russian state. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the Conservative party MP accused accountancy giant Grant Thornton, litigation funder Harbour, and London law firm CMS [...]
