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| Tuesday November 19 2019 |
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By Jonathan Ames
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Good morning.
There’s nothing like announcing the beefing-up of sentences for child murderers to get election pulses racing. Enter Robert Buckland, QC, the justice secretary.
And Jo Swinson suffered a blow as the High Court rejected the Lib Dems' attempt to secure a spot in tonight's TV debate.
But it really isn’t all about the election. Elsewhere in lawland, a taekwondo 'whistleblower' was unfairly dismissed, but not for blowing the whistle; child witnesses in Scotland are to be allowed to record evidence on video before trial; and a Supreme Court judge has called for algorithm use to have better legal controls.
On the subject of new technology that confuses anyone older than 25, a legal statement on crypto-assets is a step in the right direction, lawyers say. See our analysis for details.
Has a child ever uttered this sentence: "Mummy, I want to be a costs lawyer." See our Blue Bag diary below for the answer.
All that and more in this morning's must-read of all things legal, including news, comment and gossip.
Catherine Baksi, a freelance journalist, contributed to today’s bulletin.
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Today
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CHILD KILLERS WILL GET 'WHOLE-LIFE' SENTENCES
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Woman sues NHS for not revealing father's disease
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Dividend payments trigger rising debt at DWF
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Comment: Mass sharing of health data will serve as a test case
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| Tweet us @timeslaw with your views. |
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Story of the Day
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Child killers will get ‘whole-life’ sentences
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Child murderers will never be released from prison under Conservative plans to ensure longer sentences for those convicted of the most serious crimes (Richard Ford writes).
Adults convicted of the “premeditated” murder of a young person under the age of 16 will face a whole-life sentence unless there are exceptional mitigating circumstances, Robert Buckland, QC, the justice secretary, announced.
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Read the full story
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Comment
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Mass sharing of health data will serve as a test case
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Several popular websites, including Bupa, could be fined millions after passing sensitive information to advertisers, Rafi Azim-Khan writes
From multimillion-pound fines through to suggestions that Europe needs to wrest “digital sovereignty” from US technology giants, 2019 has been the year of data for lawyers.
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Read the full story
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News round-up
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Woman sues NHS for not revealing father’s disease
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A woman would have aborted her pregnancy if doctors had warned that a disease which may have caused her father to kill her mother was genetic, a senior judge has heard (Jonathan Ames writes).
The single mother, who is in her 40s, is claiming £350,000 in damages from three NHS trusts who treated her father as she says they should have informed her about his diagnosis and that it could be inherited.
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Read the full story
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Dividend payments trigger rising debt at DWF
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Partnership tax payments and dividend payouts have pushed up debt at DWF by 40 per cent in the past six months (Jonathan Ames writes).
Andrew Leaitherland, the mid-tier law firm's chief executive, said that “the first half of the year has seen a number of important milestones achieved as we continue to deliver on our IPO promises”.
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Read the full story
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Taekwondo 'whistleblower' was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules
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A "whistleblower" who alleged that the British taekwondo team was put at risk by dangerous training was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has ruled (Jonathan Ames writes).
Simon Edwards, 55, was found to have been unfairly dismissed under rules that protect employees when a business is sold or circumstances change.
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Read the full story
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Children to record their evidence before trial
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Child witnesses will be able to give their evidence on a video recorded before the trial from early in the new year (Marc Horne writes).
Humza Yousaf, the justice secretary, said that being able to record testimony on video will spare those under the age of 18 the “trauma of giving evidence during a trial”.
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Read the full story
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Algorithm use must be controlled, says top judge
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The use of computer algorithms should be regulated to ensure that the law is imposed on the digital world, one of Britain’s foremost judges has said.
Lord Justice Sales, a judge at the Supreme Court, called for an expert commission to be set up to counter the “grave threats” posed by algorithms and artificial intelligence.
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Read the full story
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In Brief
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- ‘Black widow’ murder claim dropped by entrepreneur’s family — The Times
- Anonymous litigant in person wasted 10 judges' time — Law Gazette
- Hove law firm establishes dedicated autism helpline — Brighton & Hove Independent
- Cardiff University law student appears on ‘Rich Kids Go Skint’ — Legal Cheek
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News analysis
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Crypto-assets decision is a step in the right direction
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The confirmation that crypto-assets are the same as property shows that English law embraces technology but greater clarity is needed, Catherine Baksi writes
The confirmation that crypto-assets count as tradable property and smart contracts are enforceable under English law has the potential to make their use mainstream, lawyers have claimed.
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Read the full story
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Best Law Firms 2020
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Meet the lawyers' lawyers
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The Times today unveils its second annual Best Law Firms survey results.
Unlike the legal directories and the countless legal profession awards, this list of 200 firms is arrived at solely through ballots cast by lawyers themselves.
We asked specialists in a range of fields a simple question: Who would you recommend if you weren’t recommending your own firm? And this year, we broadened the survey to Scotland.
See the supplement in today's print edition of The Times — and online — for the 200 law firms in England and Wales and the 40 in Scotland that lawyers themselves rate as the best.
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Read the full story
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Comment
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Firms need to put legal ethics at the heart of their business
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The subject is hardly taught here and there is a real danger many lawyers do not understand, Iain Miller and Jessica Clay write
Ethics sits at the heart of the updated regulatory framework that the Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to implement on November 25. The emphasis on behaviour and culture is in stark contrast to the 2011 version, where risk and compliance were the focus.
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Read the full story
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Tweet of the day
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| I've had no sleep, accidentally dyed my hair black last night (warm cinnamon brown my arse) and I've already laddered my tights so will need to pop to Boots when the train gets to Leeds.
Also I made a sandwich for lunch and ate it at 11:30pm last night
#pupillage #dayone |
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@Katy_potatie
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Comment
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Opt-out class action should worry big business
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Companies are left exposed by the rise in claims being brought on behalf of millions, Kenny Henderson writes
What feature of US class actions most worries business? Jury trials and punitive damages cause deep concern. But perhaps most radical is the opt-out class action. Legislative changes in Europe indicate a move towards closer adoption of the opt-out model — and the corporations should take note.
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Read the full story
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Quote of the day
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There is a crisis, and there are things that urgently need fixing in our justice system. The party that wins this election needs to focus on this or we will lose something fundamental.
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Simon Davis, president of the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, as he introduced its election manifesto
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Blue Bag
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Calling all wannabe costs lawyers
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The Brief wonders how many little children when asked what they want to be when they grow up respond with: “A costs lawyer, mummy.”
For that small but select few, the Association of Costs Lawyers wants you.
The organisation is “on the hunt for the next generation of costs professionals” according to a statement and has reopened its training scheme for the first time in three years.
The course, taught by ACL Training, its education arm, will begin in January 2020. But hurry — if you want your costs lawyer dreams to come true, you must get your application in by November 29.
And who wouldn't want to? Claire Green, the association’s chairwoman, says: “There is so much happening in the world of costs — whether in the substantive law or new ways of working, with the electronic bill taking hold — that this is an excellent time to embark on a career in the field.”
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The Churn
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Hudson takes over at crime solicitors group
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Kerry Hudson, from Bullivant Law, a London firm, has become president of the London Criminal Solicitors' Association.
She takes over from Jonathan Black, a partner at BSB Solicitors, who had worn the presidential mantel twice.
Ms Hudson joined her firm in 2008 as a paralegal while undertaking the Bar vocational course. She was called to the Bar in 2009 by Inner Temple and cross-qualified in 2011 to become a solicitor. She has an exclusively defence practice and according to her Twitter profile — @hudsonkerry — is “committed to saving legal aid and upholding the rule of law”.
She adds in her profile: “Don't let the buggers get you down.”
Two High Court appointments
Andrew Henshaw, QC, and Amanda Tipples, QC, have been appointed to the High Court. They will take up their posts on December 2 and be assigned to the Queen’s Bench and Chancery divisions respectively.
Mr Justice Henshaw, 57, was admitted as a solicitor in 1986 and called to the Bar by Inner temple in 2000. He took silk in 2013 and was appointed as a deputy High Court judge in 2017. He takes the appointment after the promotion of Mrs Justice Simler to the Court of Appeal bench.
Mrs Justice Tipples, 52, was called to the Bar by Grey’s Inn in 1991 and took silk in 2011. She was appointed as a recorder in 2009 and was authorised as a deputy High Court judge in 2013.
It is anticipated that another four appointments will be announced in the coming months.
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Quote of the day
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Imagine a parliament in which yet again that parliament undermines the government’s negotiating position by threatening or even imposing a transition extension. That would be a disaster, which is why all Brexit supporters now need to pull together behind getting a clear Conservative majority.
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Martin Howe, QC, chairman of Lawyers for Britain, a group campaigning for Britain to leave the EU
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