Legal News

Peter Kurer: lawyer became Europe's top banker

Posted on December 31, 1969
It is not often that a general counsel is catapulted to the top of the European corporate ladder, but UBS has turned to Peter Kurer, its most senior in-house lawyer, to steer it clear of its troubles as the new chairman.

Faith in legal system vanishing, says judge

Posted on December 31, 1969
Britain’s most senior judge spoke out yesterday against the early release of prisoners, which he said undermined confidence in the judicial system.

Jerome Kerviel to sue SocGen over sacking

Posted on December 31, 1969
Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader accused of losing his bank €5 billion (£3.9 billion) in one of the financial world's biggest scandals, has hit upon a new money-making scheme — he is to sue his former employer for unfair dismissal.

Underfunded and understaffed - what the Lord Chief Justice thinks of his department

Posted on December 31, 1969
They are seen by a handful of people dispensing justice in the courts and occasionally processing in ceremony at the start of the legal year. That apart, Britain’s judges are still the most hidden and inaccessible of the three arms of the State.

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EC Commissioner leads probe on Northern Rock

Posted on December 31, 1969
European regulators moved yesterday to open an investigation into the Government’s multibillion-pound survival plan for Northern Rock.<br/> <br/> The inquiry, which will run for several months, will establish whether the special support complies with the European Union’s rules on state aid and does not give the bank an unfair competitive advantage over its rivals...

Construction companies face OFT bid-rigging fines

Posted on December 31, 1969
The Office of Fair Trading is expected to impose multimillion-pound fines on 150 construction companies after a bid-rigging investigation into local council contracts worth £3 billion.<br/> <br/> Evidence of wrongdoing is expected to be sent to the construction companies this month as part of the OFT’s “statement of objections”, The Times has learnt...

The Law Explored: the Nuremberg trials

Posted on December 31, 1969
“Before the people of the world,” Spencer Tracy says as the judge in the film <i>Judgment at Nuremberg</i>, “let it be now noted ...that this is what we stand for: justice, truth and the value of a single human being...

Cannabis: tough penalties on way after another change of mind

Posted on December 31, 1969
Gordon Brown is preparing to overrule the advice of the Government’s drug advisory body and upgrade cannabis to a Class B drug, carrying tougher penalties for its possession.

Cannabis: why classification decision comes down to judgment

Posted on December 31, 1969
The debate over cannabis raises two key questions.

Plea bargaining: fraudsters may find that truth pays

Posted on December 31, 1969
Fraudsters could win lower sentences if they admit their crimes under proposals outlined yesterday for the first formal “plea bargaining” system in the criminal courts.

Pallion Housing company agree record payout to Gentoo Group

Posted on December 31, 1969
An online campaign of harassment against a housing group and its chief executive has ended with a record payout for defamation on the internet.

Cannabis: 'just three drags on a skunk joint will induce paranoia'

Posted on December 31, 1969
At a West London dinner party last weekend, a friend rolled up a joint. “Is it skunk?” I asked. It was, so I politely declined as the spliff circulated around the other guests.

Hermitage Capital alleges fraud and theft involving Russian Interior Ministry

Posted on December 31, 1969
Hermitage Capital, the leading foreign portfolio investor in Russia, claims it has been the victim of an attempted fraud and theft of hundreds of millions of dollars by individuals connected to the Russian Interior Ministry.

Weird Cases: just the ticket for belly dancing snakes

Posted on December 31, 1969
<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Weird_Cases/">Read more Weird Cases</a>

Procol Harum singer wins royalty battle over Whiter Shade of Pale

Posted on December 31, 1969
They fought over the light fandango and did cartwheels through the courts. Now, Gary Brooker, lead singer of Procol Harum, has finally won his battle to reclaim full royalty rights to the classic hit, <i>A Whiter Shade of Pale</i>.

Corporate Manslaughter Act: firms face huge fines for deaths

Posted on December 31, 1969
Prosecutions of companies found responsible for deaths – from rail crashes to accidents at work – are expected to rise significantly under laws that take effect tomorrow.

Corporate manslaughter: everything you need to know

Posted on December 31, 1969
<b>What is it? </b>

Matthew Fisher wins credit but no cash in Procol Harum royalty row

Posted on December 31, 1969
They fought over the light fandango and did cartwheels through the courts. Now, Gary Brooker, lead singer of Procol Harum, has won his battle to reclaim full royalty rights to the classic hit <i>A Whiter Shade of Pale.</i>

Murder suspects go free as cases of witness intimidation double

Posted on December 31, 1969
A judge condemned a campaign of intimidation yesterday that led to six murder suspects being acquitted because witnesses were too scared to testify.

Prosecuting lawyers could sit in judgment if CPS ban is lifted

Posted on December 31, 1969
Hundreds of state prosecutors could be free to become judges under top-level moves to end a ban on Crown Prosecution Service employees entering the judiciary, <i>The Times</i> has learnt Baroness Scotland, QC, the Attorney-General, and Sir Ken Mac-donald, QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, are both strongly in favour of the changes, saying that it would make the judiciary more diverse by widening the pool of women and ethnic minority lawyers who could be judges.

Star Wars costume-maker strikes back against George Lucas

Posted on December 31, 1969
By Saturday evening the humdrum office of a firm of City solicitors could have been mistaken for a distant outpost of the Galactic Empire.

High Court rejects MoD attempt to 'gag' outspoken coroners over defence failures

Posted on December 31, 1969
The Government suffered its second major legal defeat in 24 hours today when a High Court judge rejected an attempt by Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, to ban coroners using from phrases such as "serious failure" in their verdicts on dead soldiers.

QC to advise racing chiefs on Max Mosley orgy

Posted on December 31, 1969
The world-governing body of motorsport has appointed a leading QC to provide it with an opinion as to whether its president, Max Mosley, was involved in Nazi-style role play during a sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes.

The Water Cooler

Posted on December 31, 1969
* Once it was all kept under wraps. Now the process, at least, of selecting the most senior judge in the land is out in the open. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary appoints a selection panel which then advises him of the chosen candidate...

Lawyer of the Week: Brian Doctor

Posted on December 31, 1969
Brian Doctor, QC, of Fountain Court Chambers, was leading counsel for the Office of Fair Trading’s successful test case against leading banks on unfair bank charges. The High Court held that the banks’ charges for unauthorised overdrafts are subject to a test of fairness under consumer legislation.

Student Water Cooler

Posted on December 31, 1969
* More than 900 students from 94 universities have applied for the new City Solicitors’ Educational Trust summer school to be held this July, four times the expected level.

Legal Moves

Posted on December 31, 1969
* No5 Chambers has taken on five new tenants at its London arm, boosting its tally of barristers to more than 200.

Plea negotiation offers way forward in need to resolve fraud cases

Posted on December 31, 1969
A system of “plea negotiation”, in which defendants in fraud cases can mitigate their sentences by agreeing to plead guilty before trial, could be in place by the autumn, according to the senior QC who heads the Government’s working group on the subject.

Drugs offender keeps £4.5m after 30 barristers refuse to take case

Posted on December 31, 1969
A convicted drugs offender has escaped a confiscation order for up to £4.5 million of his assets because legal aid barristers would not take on the case for the fixed fee of £175.25 a day.

Lawyer of the Week: Victoria Blankstone

Posted on December 31, 1969
Victoria Blankstone, a solicitor in the Birmingham office of Irwin Mitchell, acted for the daughter of 77-year-old Leslie Vines, who died in Maypole nursing home in 2002, one of 27 in a year. A judicial review overturned a coroner’s decision not to open an inquest into the death, and an inquest was ordered by Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary...

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