Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has lost his appeal in a proposed mass claim against PRS for Music over so-called black box royalties. These are royalties collected by PRS which cannot be matched to a particular song, writer or payee because…

The Court of Appeal has reinstated a LeO finding against a family law firm over capacity and compensation. The court has reinstated an ombudsman decision that Aina Khan Law failed to assess a family client’s capacity properly and should pay…

Five thousand Dieselgate claimants have run into the least glamorous wall in civil litigation: effective service. A High Court master has refused to let the claimants join the Peugeot, Citroen and DS part of the Pan-NOx emissions litigation after their…

A veteran solicitor has been struck off after admitting he billed clients for work he had not done to stop his firm exceeding its overdraft. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that Mark Grenville Davies, admitted in 1985, improperly billed on…

The Post Office scandal has at last produced disciplinary charges against solicitors, though not the sort many campaigners had been waiting for. The SRA has named Jane MacLeod, the former Post Office general counsel, and Nick Gould as the first…

Open justice has discovered the ancient British art of saying “of course you may” while quietly reaching for the card machine. A cross-party early day motion is calling for court transcripts to be made freely available. The idea is almost…

Updated Department for Education guidance became statutory on 29 June. Schools in England should begin following it from 1 September. The guidance says schools should be mobile phone-free by default and should prohibit the use of phones and similar smart…

The Vagrancy Act was law written in the tone of a man irritated that poverty had chosen to be visible. On 29 June, the government repeals the remaining 1824 provisions which criminalised rough sleeping and begging. That ends a 202-year…