• Manchester Solicitor Struck Off over Unwanted Messages

    Manchester Solicitor Struck Off over Unwanted Messages

    The SRA’s workplace misconduct drive has produced another hard lesson. Some messages are not just embarrassing, they are derailment. A veteran Manchester solicitor, described in reports as a “top lawyer”, has been struck off after admitting unwanted messages to three…

  • Blur Drummer Loses £200m PRS Royalties Appeal

    Blur Drummer Loses £200m PRS Royalties Appeal

    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…

  • Legal Ombudsman wins Capacity Appeal

    Legal Ombudsman wins Capacity Appeal

    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…

  • Dieselgate Claimants hit by Service Failure

    Dieselgate Claimants hit by Service Failure

    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…

  • Solicitor struck off over client Money Misuse

    Solicitor struck off over client Money Misuse

    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…

  • Post Office lawyer prosecutions begin at SDT

    Post Office lawyer prosecutions begin at SDT

    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…

  • Free Court Transcripts Campaign Gathers Support

    Free Court Transcripts Campaign Gathers Support

    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…

  • School phone ban becomes statutory guidance

    School phone ban becomes statutory guidance

    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…