Lawyers will all remember (some possibly with fondness) the case of Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) AC 562. The snail in the ginger beer case was a favourite of mine at university not least because it showed the human side of the law and how the law related to real life. I was only slightly amused… Read More: Snails, smoke balls and good neighbours »
Green shoots? But will they be trampled by the elephant in the room? In her recent article (Positive thoughts, The Lawyer, 26th August 2009) Katy Dowell quotes the claim by Patrick Sherrington, global head of litigation at Lovells, that London is a “good place to hear cases” and his view that the Government (by asking… Read More: Down among the green shoots »
Usain Bolt’s electrifying run in Berlin last weekend which resulted in a new world record of 9.58 seconds for the 100m set the press speculating on how low he could take the world record. Recent events in the global economy have led to a very different run for lawyers. Judging by the gloomy stories coming… Read More: The race is on »
Blogs may not be as anonymous as some contributors have assumed or would like. As a relative newcomer to the art of blogging, I woke up today to a salutary reminder that bloggers are not above or beyond the law when it comes to ‘ordinary’ standards of defamation and libel. According to an aticle in… Read More: See you anon – in court »
I travelled to Birmingham recently to attend one of the road shows hosted by Lord Justice Jackson as part of the consultation exercise following publication of his preliminary report. That exercise is now complete and we await his final report at the end of the year. The event was well attended, attracting about 150 lawyers, civil… Read More: Jackson Road Show »
I must admit I have always been baffled by the decision taken by Lord Woolf in Access to Justice to rebrand the process of “Discovery”, which we all knew and loved and to call it “Disclosure”. I don’t think you see the process called Disclosure elsewhere in the world and indeed, I have recently had… Read More: You say discovery, I say disclosure… »
Almost everybody has heard of the protracted litigation between Multiplex and various parties arising out of the construction of the new National Stadium at Wembley. Amongst those disputes the largest, and most publicised, was that between Multiplex and its steelwork sub-contractor, Cleveland Bridge (CB). Less well known are the 6 paragraphs (out of a total… Read More: The Road from Wembley »
It came as news to me recently that the technology exists to search the spoken word in much the same way as e-discovery tools search the written word. Bearing in mind the wide definition of “document” for the purposes of disclosure, lawyers need to consider whether voicemails and recorded messages and other forms of the… Read More: Speak no evil »
Lord Neuberger is to be the 95th Master of the Rolls since the 13th Century. At 60, he is the youngest of the Law Lords and has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top job. “I am fully aware of the many challenges of my new office which will include the implementation of the review… Read More: Neuberger sweeps clean »
I noticed a report in The Lawyer on 31st July relating to the swansong of the House of Lords Judicial Committee. The Committee is being replaced by the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October. Apparently, the staff have a sense of humour. On their last day callers to 020-7219-3111 heard Frank Sinatra… Read More: From the supreme to the ridiculous »