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Frances Gibb and Jonathan Ames bring this morning’s must-read of all things legal, including news, comment and gossip. Today - Colonel says torture claims were ‘harrowing’ for soldiers
- Regulator wants to lower the bar in disciplinary cases
- Former solicitor-general to leave parliament
- Young and minority magistrates sought to broaden diversity
- Partners join exodus as CMS merger becomes official
- Taylor report ‘will clarify gig economy rights’
- Comment: Alternative business structures could save the Bar
- The Churn: bank holiday promotion bonanza
- Blue Bag diary: Court win for Times enviro man
Plus, see our plans for Brief Premium and archive of articles so far. Tweet us @TimesLaw with your views.
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Colonel says torture claims were ‘harrowing’ for soldiers
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A British Army officer has said that claims that soldiers murdered and tortured detainees were “harrowing” and added to their post-Iraq War stress. Colonel James Coote (pictured), of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, said that the allegations had put pressure on the men who were under his command during the Battle of Danny Boy in May 2004. “What I can say is that in 13 years, individual soldiers have been put through a very harrowing process that added stress, added strain to their lives,” he told the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in London. Colonel Coote, 45, who was a major in command of C Company of the regiment’s First Battalion at the time, said that he had suffered sleep disorders and that he felt the way the claims were made public at a lawyer-organised press conference in 2008 and in a BBC Panorama documentary had been “inappropriate”. The colonel, who appeared before the tribunal wearing his army uniform, said that he was angry at the public announcement. He said: “The impact of the lawyers’ actions, I would characterise that in two ways. Physically, it meant that the investigations into the events of 2004 ran for several more years. Secondly … I felt … dismayed and a sense of anger that these allegations were brought in the way that they were, which I felt was inappropriate. “There was certainly a sense of sensationalism. I remember the Panorama documentary and the news reporting of the press statement given by the solicitors and I remember thinking this was an inappropriate way for these allegations to be brought.” Troops from the battalion, known as the Tigers, were deployed after Mahdi Army insurgents ambushed their fellow units from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. More than 20 Iraqis were killed in an intense battle and nine others were later detained and taken to the nearby Camp Abu Naji. The London law firm Leigh Day pursued damages claims against the Ministry of Defence over the alleged mistreatment and unlawful killing of captives at the British-run camp following the Battle of Danny Boy. The al-Sweady Inquiry later dismissed the claims as “false”. Colonel Coote was giving evidence on the sixth day of the hearing, which is expected to last seven weeks. The Solicitors Regulation Authority alleges that Leigh Day and its partners Martyn Day and Sapna Malik continued to act for the claimants when they had evidence it was “improper”. The two solicitors face 16 misconduct charges, while their fellow solicitor Anna Crowther faces four, including an allegation of destroying a key document. The firm is charged with 11 counts. All deny any wrongdoing.
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Regulator wants to lower proof bar in disciplinary cases
Regulators are considering lowering the standard of proof in barrister disciplinary proceedings, the profession’s watchdog revealed yesterday. Barristers are to be consulted on whether the existing criminal standard of proof – of beyond a reasonable doubt – should be lowered to the civil standard of “satisfied so as to be sure”. The Bar Standards Board said that making the move would bring disciplinary proceedings in line with the standard of proof required in the disciplinary cases of many other professions. However, solicitors – who form the largest part of the UK’s legal profession – are still judged on the criminal standard. Sara Jagger, the board’s professional conduct director, said: “We have robust procedures in place to make sure that the way in which we deal with complaints against barristers is both thorough and fair. We want to know whether or not people think that changing the standard of proof used in disciplinary proceedings from the criminal to the civil standard would be consistent with these principles. We urge anyone with a view on the matter to respond to our consultation accordingly.” The consultation will close on July 21, 2017. A spokesman for the Bar Council, which represents 15,000 practising barristers in England and Wales, said: “Given the importance of this proposed change we will be studying the consultation closely, responding and urging our members … to respond.” The Solicitors Regulation Authority is also lobbying to have the standard of proof lowered in proceedings before that profession’s disciplinary tribunal. |
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Former solicitor-general to leave parliament
Edward Garnier, QC, the former solicitor-general, is to stand down as an MP at the general election, the One Brick Court lawyer has confirmed. Garnier, a media and defamation law expert, has represented the constituency of Harborough in Leicestershire since 1992. He was solicitor-general in David Cameron’s government between March 2010 and September 2012, when the position was given to Oliver Heald, QC, in a reshuffle. A report in the Leicester Mercury said that Garnier, who is 64, had planned on remaining in parliament until its scheduled end in 2020 but the prime minister’s decision to call a snap election had triggered a change of heart. The silk was a well-known supporter of the UK remaining in the EU during the referendum last summer. Garnier – who was called in 1976 and took silk 19 years later – told the newspaper that he “could not have been luckier in being the MP for such a wonderful part of the country and to have worked with great friends and supporters in Leicestershire and Westminster through the highs and lows of the Conservative Party's fortunes”.
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Young and minority magistrates sought to broaden diversity
Magistrates’ courts in London are going on a hiring spree in an attempt to add up to 350 volunteers to the books in the capital. Officials began the recruitment drive yesterday, saying that they wanted “to encourage the broadest possible range of applicants, particularly from minority communities and younger people”. They went on to emphasise that prospective candidates “do not need to be from a particular social background”. The courts office pointed out that lay-magistrates hear 93 per cent of all criminal cases that come before the courts. Officials emphasised that magistrates needed to have “good judgement, maturity and a sound temperament – and be committed to the work”. Jacqui MacDonald-Davis, the central London magistrate said: “There are many misconceptions out there about who can be a magistrate, and I think we are missing out on a large swathe of potential applicants across London. It is vital that magistrates reflect the community they serve in order to maintain confidence in the justice system. We need people from all walks of life to join us as magistrates, so if you have that interest which could become a passion then please apply.”
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Partners join exodus as CMS merger becomes official
Senior partners at CMS, Olswang and Nabarro were meant to be popping the fizz yesterday as one of the City of London’s most ambitious mergers became official, but two more high profile departures overshadowed celebrations. The CMS Cameron McKenna partners Peter Crichton and Lindy Patterson, QC, were the latest in a stream of lawyers jumping ship in advance of the tripartite merger. The Lawyer magazine reported that Crichton bailed out to the London partnership of the US law firm McDermott Will & Emery, while Patterson – one of the rare breed of solicitor-advocate silks – is crossing the line to join the bar at 39 Essex Chambers. Most of the other prominent lawyers who have turned their backs on the merged firm have been from Olswang. Nonetheless, senior lawyers remaining at the firm did their best to put a positive spin on events. “Today we are presenting a new and dynamic firm to the market,” intoned Stephen Millar, the practice’s managing partner in London. “This merger is about a real collection of histories and cultures coming together, and achieving great things for the benefit of our clients and our people.” See The Churn below
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Taylor report ‘will clarify gig economy rights’
A review of the so-called gig economy is likely to suggest long-awaited clarification of the law on workers’ rights, lawyers said in the wake of a cross-party report published on Monday. Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, is set to report next month. Lawyers anticipate that the Taylor report – commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy last November -- will clarify the status of workers at businesses that are currently using what they describe as freelance contractors. After the separate report was published on Monday by the House of Commons work and pensions committee, Sean Nesbitt, a partner at the City of London law firm Taylor Wessing, said that lawyers anticipated that Taylor would recommend that workers were given “rights to contracts, and some workplace information and discussion”. Nesbitt also predicted that, in relation to tax and national insurance, “Taylor is likely to suggest higher worker contributions once the Chancellor clears the way with the changes to the tax promise, but the elephant in the taxi is whether employer-style contributions will be suggested, or platforms like Uber asked to use their tech for good by deducting and accounting for contributions in exchange for some benefits”. Nesbitt said that the MPs’ comments on benefits and pensions were close to the thinking of Taylor, “who has said he likes a nudge in suggesting behavioural approaches to enable and encourage the self-employed to default into a version of the auto-enrolment pension system”. He forecast that Taylor’s report would include “fuller recommendations on encouraging the provision of retirement savings and other benefits for the self-employed or workers. For example, he could recommend that businesses have protection so that they can provide benefits without it upgrading the legal status of workers to employees”.
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In Brief
Cyclists’ safety at risk from drivers who escape the law, finds ‘truly shocking’ inquiry – Cycling Weekly Brick Court silk to lead Charlie Gard appeal – Solicitors Journal Judge struggling to stem bid to unseal Princess Margaret’s will – Litigation Futures Shearman hikes UK associate pay following 14% increase in City revenue – Legal Business
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Court win for Times enviro man
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When the freedom of the press seems to be under constant attack – anyone seen that royal charter recently? – a heart-warming tale reaches Blue Bag from the often rocky shores of the High Court in London. Loyal readers will recall our report last week on what seemed to be a money-spinning initiative from HM Courts & Tribunal Service. Officials told a Times hack that a copy of the government application to delay publication of its air quality plans, while a public document, was only available at a tenner per page for the first ten pages and then at 50p each for all subsequent pages. However, in court the next day, Mr Justice Garnham was surprised to hear suggestions that members of her majesty’s press corps had not been furnished with free copies and asked whether that was the case. Cue vigorous nodding – which was remarked on by the judge – from this newspaper’s environment editor, Ben Webster. Without skipping a beat, Mr Justice Garnham barked at James Eadie, QC, the Blackstone Chambers silk leading the legal team for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, instructing him to make copies available sharpish. Chalk one up for the power of the press.
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Key to success
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Lawyers in the UK have their own robes, wigs and coded language – which a suspicious public is convinced is designed to confuse laypeople – and now thanks to an enterprising American, they can have their own computer keyboards. Legalboard is the brainchild of the lawyer Brian Potts and a Wisconsin outfit called Pro-Boards, which suggests bespoke surfing for the legal profession, but don’t get excited. Instead, the Legalboard includes common legal symbols for all those lawyers who have long since been told to stop dictating as the firm’s secretaries have all been sacked and so they have to type their own documents. “I was furiously writing a brief when I went to insert a section symbol,” Potts told the website Legal Cheek. “As was my custom, I had to stop what I was doing, use the mouse, go to insert a symbol, find the section symbol and hit insert. This process stopped my train of thought, took up my precious time, and more than anything else, was incredibly annoying.” To be fair, most of the symbols will make sense only to US lawyers, but there is one universal key for lazy professionals everywhere. It simply says: “court”.
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A run down of the big partner and team moves this week
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Two Birds and Shoosmiths lead bank holiday promotion bonanza
There must have been something in the bank holiday punch as a glut of prominent law firms embraced the celebrations by promoting rafts of worker bees to the ranks of partnership. The City law firm Bird & Bird and the national practice Shoosmiths led the way, with each bumping six to the top table. To be fair “TwoBirds” was actually streets ahead, with 16 new partners, but the lucky six in the UK are: Gabriel Voisin, Bryony Hurst, Ewan Grist, Craig Giles, Shing Lo and Zoe Feller. The half dozen at Shoosmiths are: David Perry, Catherine Hood, Aaron Harlow, Joe Stephenson, Ruth Clare and Lisa Keating. Back on the global stage, the transatlantic firm DLA Piper handed keys to the partnership washrooms to enough lawyers to form a small football league; but of the 46 in total, only four were in London: Chris Chan, Patrick Mitchell, Edward Shaw and Richard Skipper. Also in London, Kingsley Napley bumped up three lawyers: Brandusa Tataru-Marinescu, Rebecca Niblock and Johanna Walsh. It wasn’t all promotions – leading firms also kept the transfer market ticking over to ensure that head-hunters didn’t go hungry over the weekend. It was one out and two in at the City firm Clyde & Co. The firm waved good-bye to Stewart Perry, an insolvency specialist, who jumps to City rival Fieldfisher. But Clyde & Co doubled down by picking up two US attorneys -- David Hesse and Peter Stewart – from Curtis Mallet-Prevost for its global arbitration and energy groups. Over to Gibraltar, where the niche practice Signature Litigation has lured Elliott Phillips to the partnership from the local firm ISOLAS; he will head Signature’s new office on “the rock”. Even farther afield, in Singapore, the local office of the US firm Akin Gump has pinched Michael Joyce for its partnership from Anglo-US practice Norton Rose Fulbright. Staying in Asia-Pacific, the City firm Osborne Clarke has cut a partnership deal with the Shanghai firm Zhang Yu & Partners which is led by the local lawyers Guohua Zhang and Steve Yu. Back in Blighty, where the California litigation heavyweight Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has brought Liesl Fichardt into its London partnership from the magic circle law firm Clifford Chance, where she was head of the tax Investigations and disputes practice.
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