The morning’s top legal affairs news stories Iraq War: Bid to prosecute Tony Blair rejected by High Court [BBC News] ‘She’s not talking to a priest’: Princess Diana tapes maker’s lawyer defends client’s sale of private confessions [The Telegraph] Evacuated tower block resident in court over decision to move her back [The Guardian] Supreme Court Judge: Saviours of workers? [Spiked] Why was this “child sex gang leader” released from prison 17 years early? [The Secret Barrister] Ready for robot lawyers? How students can prepare for the future of law [The Guardian] Cristiano Ronaldo appears before Spanish court to answer questions over alleged £13m tax fraud [The Telegraph] Anthony Scaramucci fired by White House, killed off by Harvard Law School [Above The Law] BPTC & LPC graduates sought for County Court Advocate roles: Immediate start [Legal Cheek Hub] “Personally my impression of Durham has always been that it is for posh kids who wanted the Oxbridge drinking society/rugby team culture but didn’t fancy the hard academic work, or simply couldn’t get in. I would regard UCL as second best to Oxbridge, and LSE and Bristol as better than Durham.” [Legal Cheek comments] For all the latest commercial awareness info, and advance notification of Legal Cheek’s careers events, sign up to the Legal Cheek Hub. The post Morning round-up: Tuesday 1 August appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2017/08/morning-round-up-tuesday-1-august/
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Place your bets With Lady Hale confirmed as the new president of the Supreme Court, talk has turned to who will replace her as deputy president. You might assume Lord Sumption would be a shoo-in for the number two role. Not only has he been dubbed the brain of Britain, Sumption is the third ‘most celebrity’ justice after the president and deputy president (based on press mentions). And he wears funky ties. The ‘omg a female president’ buzz seems to have totally overshadowed the deputy president vacancy, and the few thoughts and predictions to materialise were pretty Sumption-less. Legal affairs guru Joshua Rozenberg instead mentioned Lord Mance:
However Mance’s age will hold him back. At 74, he is fast approaching his statutory retirement date (June 2018) and Rozenberg himself conceded a younger justice would be “more likely”. A turning point came with last week’s employment tribunal fees ruling. The court unanimously sided with trade union UNISON in its legal action against the Lord Chancellor, over a much-hated ‘fees order’ introduced by Chris Grayling. It was Lord Reed who penned the Supreme Court’s lead judgment (video below) — one that has since attracted high praise from the lawyers of Twitter. UCL academic Steven Vaughan admitted the judgment made him cry, while trainee solicitor Sam Lear said it was one of the “most brilliant” he’d read.
With compliments coming from here, there and everywhere, it wasn’t long before all eyes turned to Reed for the deputy president job. Rozenberg said today on his Facebook page: “My money’s on Lord Reed.” James Lee, King’s College London law academic, said he thinks Reed will one day be president:
One of the lesser known faces of the Supreme Court, Reed is a Scottish judge who studied at Edinburgh and is an honorary professor of law at the University of Glasgow. He has sat on the European Court of Human Rights and, aged 60, Reed is a spring chicken compared to Mance (and 68-year-old Sumption for that matter.) The deputy president post will be considered by a panel of five including the Lord Chief Justice and current president Neuberger. A scan of the criteria shows the panel’s after “an outstanding lawyer” who is sensitive to the concerns of fellow justices and has the ability to command respect from colleagues. The salary is £215,256, the same as is paid to all justices. An appointment is expected in September. Watch: Lord Reed explains the Supreme Court’s decision to quash employment tribunal feesFor all the latest commercial awareness info, and advance notification of Legal Cheek’s careers events, sign up to the Legal Cheek Hub. The post Who will replace Lady Hale as deputy Supreme Court president? appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2017/07/who-will-replace-lady-hale-as-deputy-supreme-court-president/ Hysteria sets in on application deadline day? Aspiring lawyers across the country will be on their seventh cup of coffee today as they rush to get their last minute training contract forms in. But, despite Keele Law Society’s advice, please don’t include a gavel in your application. The student law society has posted an image to Instagram telling applicants to make sure they’ve added “those finishing touches” — a sentiment illustrated by a gavel of all things.
It’s a common misconception that gavels are used in UK courtrooms. Keele now joins a long list of law schools continuing to fuel this fallacy. Last year we reported that the University of Oxford’s Hertford College had included the auctioneer’s hammer in its alumni newsletter. Not long before, BPP Law School dropped a similarly gavel-shaped clanger in its 2015 advocacy manual. And who could forget this Staffordshire University gaffe from the archives? We’ll put Keele’s gavel post down to training contract deadline day hysteria, which will reach its peak today. If you’re crunching through your last minute applications and are after some tips, check out Legal Cheek’s ‘13 articles you must read if you’re applying for training contracts this summer’ piece. Good luck! For all the latest commercial awareness info, and advance notification of Legal Cheek’s careers events, sign up to the Legal Cheek Hub. The post Keele University’s law society in training contract gavel clanger appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2017/07/keele-universitys-law-society-in-training-contract-gavel-clanger/ Reed Smith keeps 12 out of 14 qualifying trainees including King & Wood Mallesons survivor7/31/2017 Firm also reveals its training contract applications have almost doubled The London office of international law firm Reed Smith has posted an autumn 2017 retention figure of 86%. Of the 14 final seat trainees due to qualify this September, Reed Smith confirmed that 12 will be staying on as associates. Three newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers are commercial disputes bound, while a further two will join the firm’s corporate team. The remaining seven autumn newbies will join: the financial industry group, shipping, energy and natural resources, entertainment and media, real estate, labour and employment, and intellectual property. The firm — which offers around 24 London training positions annually — confirmed that all 12 soon-to-be associates are on permanent contracts. Among Reed Smith’s new recruits is a former King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) trainee. Following the collapse of KWM’s UK, European and Middle East (EUME) arm earlier this year, a host of City firms came forward to help its 60 or so stranded trainees in a rescue mission first revealed by Legal Cheek. Reed Smith took three of KWM’s wannabe lawyers. One is staying on, one is leaving this autumn, and the final KWM recruit will qualify next year. Commenting on the result, Reed Smith’s training principal, Samantha Roberts, said:
If this retention news makes you hungry for Reed Smith trainee life, be prepared to face more applicants than usual. Highlighting the intense competition among aspiring solicitors, Roberts added:
Legal Cheek’s Most List shows that Reed Smith’s new associates will start on a salary of £70,000. Its trainees currently pocket £40,000 in year one, rising to £44,000 in year two. For all the latest commercial awareness info, and advance notification of Legal Cheek’s careers events, sign up to the Legal Cheek Hub. The post Reed Smith keeps 12 out of 14 qualifying trainees, including King & Wood Mallesons’ survivor appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2017/07/reed-smith-keeps-12-out-of-14-qualifying-trainees-including-king-wood-mallesons-survivor/ Supreme Court now has more Durham grads than any other non-Oxbridge uni Diversity in the Supreme Court is all people want to talk about right now. With Lady Hale’s elevation to the head judge role and Lady Justice Black’s appointment to justice stardom, the bench is now the most gender diverse it has ever been. But one area of judicial diversity that is often overlooked is university attended. Oxbridge domination is rife: stats from last year show 74% of top judges attended either Oxford or Cambridge, as did 78% of QCs. The Supreme Court is an Oxbridge-heavy bench. However, with Black’s appointment Durham is now the third most represented university (tied with Edinburgh, or not if you are looking at English judges). The term ‘Doxbridge’ has been floating around for some years now (its Urban Dictionary entry dates back to 2009), and we can see why: there are some undeniable similarities between the trio. The Durham collegiate system certainly has an Oxford and Cambridge ring to it, as does its historic, cathedral architecture. And a law degree from Durham is similarly prestigious. It consistently ranks highly in university league tables, its building was once crowned the ‘most impressive law school building in the world’, and its academic fame has been taken up a notch thanks to new head Thom Brookes (who has become an authoritative and well-known Brexit commentator). One student tells Legal Cheek:
And it appears to have the rah-factor (sorry). Durham is nestled between Oxford and Cambridge in terms of its public school uptake: 61% of its students are from state schools, compared to 56% at Oxford and 62% at Cambridge. A combo of all these factors, and more, led commenters on a recent Legal Cheek article about LLB university choices to declare Doxbridge the new Oxbridge. “Durham, part of that elite trio of unis, Doxbridge, is the perfect choice”, one commenter noted. Another said: “Durham is at the top with Oxford and Cambridge”, while one reader went for: “Aside from Oxbridge, Durham vastly outstrips every other uni in terms of its representation in City law firms”. But does it? According to interesting research by Chambers Student, after Oxbridge Durham is the most represented undergraduate university in magic circle trainee cohorts and the cohorts of “other large London” firms. It’s also the third most frequently occurring university in “all London firms” and in “medium to small London firms”. Stepping away from London-headquartered outfits, Durham again comes in third when we consider US firms in the capital. As for “all national and regional firms”, Durham comes in second place just behind Manchester, beating Oxbridge by some margin. We’re impressed. But now it’s time for some scepticism. For starters, it is worth noting at this point Durham is one of the biggest Russell Group law schools and, therefore, churns out a higher number of grads than many of its rivals. Three-hundred-and-ten people accepted places to study law at Durham last year, compared to 235 at Oxford and 215 at Cambridge. This makes Durham one of the biggest Russell Group law schools (though the likes of Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool are bigger). Further, when you move away from the narrow focus that is law firm trainee cohorts, Durham’s shine dims — a bit. Research shows Durham plays a healthy, but not dominatory, role in the make up of magic circle and silver circle firm partners. Twenty-four percent of these partners hail from Oxford and 20% from Cambridge. Third place is Bristol (14%), and in joint fourth there’s Nottingham, King’s and Durham on 10% each. And then we turn to the bar, where, frankly, the Doxbridge fanfare falls silent. Though Durham’s website states “many of our graduates are called to the bar and become established barristers at both London-based and regional chambers,” the Legal Cheek Most List shows new tenants at the country’s top 50 chambers are disproportionately, and I mean massively disproportionately, Oxford or Cambridge grads. For three chambers, five out of five of their newest barristers are Oxbridge educated, while four out of five new tenants went to Oxbridge at 12 sets. It’s three out of five at 20 sets, two out of five at 11, and one out of five at three. And a scan of the non-Oxbridge new tenants doesn’t fill us with Doxbridge confidence either: we stumbled across just as many Durham grads as we did the rest of the Russell Group lot, and a fair few non-Russell Groupers too. So, while Durham certainly has a foothold in the law firm trainee market, Doxbridge does not seem to be a profession-wide thing. “Durham is not ‘at the top’ — it’s a good RG university, not on a par with Oxbridge,” one of our commenters concludes. “It’s on a par with Bristol, Warwick, QMUL, KCL, Sheffield and other universities in the RG.” With this we are inclined to agree. For all the latest commercial awareness info, and advance notification of Legal Cheek’s careers events, sign up to the Legal Cheek Hub. The post Is ‘Doxbridge’ a thing? appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2017/07/is-doxbridge-a-thing/ The morning’s top legal affairs news stories Mother who didn’t like her child’s middle name because it was the same as “an infamous public figure” wins court battle to change it in challenge costing thousands in legal aid [Mail Online] Government threatened with new court action for ‘failing to act’ on harsh impact of immigration rules on children [The Independent] Christian magistrate in gay adoption row set for legal battle with NHS bosses [The Telegraph] Record number of criminals have sentences increased [The Guardian] Theresa May’s new porn law is ridiculous — but dangerous [Red Pepper] Minister calls for Scotch whisky to be defined in law [BBC News] Joshua Rozenberg’s judicial runners and riders [Facebook] Jackson to unveil new fixed costs regime today [Law Society Gazette] EU starts legal action against Poland over new law [Al Jazeera] OJ Simpson’s lawyer sends cease and desist letter to family of slain Ron Goldman, claiming they threatened him with an “unsolicited phone call” [Mail Online] BPTC & LPC graduates sought for County Court Advocate roles: Immediate start [Legal Cheek Hub] “2:2 barrister here, in a legal 500 set doing well & have experience recruiting pupils.” [Legal Cheek Comments] The post Morning round-up: Monday 31 July appeared first on Legal Cheek. from https://www.legalcheek.com/2017/07/morning-round-up-monday-31-july/ One day after President Donald Trump drew cheers and applause from a crowd of police officers by urging them not to be "too nice" to suspected criminals, the commissioner of the New York Police Department denounced Trump's comments as sending "the wrong message." "The NYPD's training and policies relating to the use of force only allow for measures that are reasonable and necessary under any circumstances, including the arrest and transportation of prisoners," commissioner James O'Neill said in a statement. "To suggest that police officers apply any standard in the use of force other than what is reasonable and necessary is irresponsible, unprofessional and sends the wrong message to law enforcement as well as the public." Trump had been addressing law enforcement officials in Brentwood, New York, on Friday when he departed from remarks on his administration's efforts to dismantle the street gang MS-13, and began discussing the way officers lead suspects into police vehicles. "When you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough," Trump said. "I said, 'Please don't be too nice.'" He continued: "Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over. Like, 'Don't hit their head' and they've just killed somebody. "'Don't hit their head.' I said, 'You can take the hand away.' OK?" Trump's comments come at a significant moment in police-community relations, particularly in New York City. The NYPD is among many departments across the country that has attracted national scrutiny over its use of force against civilians, particularly African-Americans. One of the most prominent instances was the death of Eric Garner in 2014, who died after being placed in a banned chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo. A grand jury in Staten Island later declined to indict Pantaleo. O'Neill had declined to send NYPD officials to Trump's Long Island speech, telling reporters that the department was too busy with promotion ceremonies. The department has had a rocky relationship with the Trump administration, particularly after Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April called New York City "soft on crime," prompting O'Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio to publicly rebuke the comment. But the NYPD was not the only police department to speak out against Trump's Friday remarks encouraging violence against suspects. The Suffolk County Police Department, which sent officers to the speech, tweeted afterwards that it maintains strict regulations around the handling of prisoners. "Violations of those rules are treated extremely seriously," the department wrote. "As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners." A spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department in Florida also drew widespread praise for his tweet condemning Trump's remarks:
Watch Trump's full remarks below:SEE ALSO: Trump slams China via Twitter: 'They do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk' Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 'You're inflaming everybody!': Watch reporters clash with Sanders over press coverage from http://www.businessinsider.com/irresponsible-unprofessional-nypd-slams-trump-comments-urging-police-not-to-be-too-nice-to-suspects-2017-7 A Utah real estate agent killed on an Alaska cruise was remembered by her employer as a trusted adviser and valued sales associate. Kristy Manzanares was found dead Tuesday night as the cruise ship Emerald Princess traveled between Ketchikan and Juneau. Her husband, Kenneth Manzanares, was charged with murder after he was discovered with blood on his hands and clothes, and with blood spread throughout the cabin on the Princess Cruises ship, according to a criminal complaint by FBI Special Agent Michael L. Watson. "Kristy was a dedicated and loving mother who juggled her business schedule to make her children the top priority," the statement from Summit Sotheby's International Realty in St. George, Utah, said. Kristy Manzanares, 39, had a severe head wound, but authorities have declined to release other details in the case, including how many people were traveling with the couple on the 3,400-passenger Emerald Princess that left Sunday from Seattle. A man and other people went into the room before medical workers and security officers had arrived and saw the woman on the floor covered in blood, according to court documents. The man asked Manzanares what happened, and the suspect said, "'She would not stop laughing at me,'" according to the FBI complaint. Manzanares then grabbed his wife's body and tried to drag her to the balcony, but the man stopped him, Watson wrote. The name of the man was not included in the complaint. A ship security officer handcuffed Manzanares, who was held in a nearby cabin, authorities said. While the FBI searched him, Manzanares said, "'My life is over,'" the complaint states. Passengers aboard the ship at the time of the incident said they initially believed the commotion was a hoax as any had been attending a "murder mystery" themed dinner when an announcement was read over an intercom saying a "domestic altercation" had occurred. "Whoever was talking was pretty scared because their voice was shaking," one passenger, Ruby Plata, told CBS News. Another passenger, Chris Ceman, had been just across from the room the alleged murder took place. "One of the little girls from that room came running out, calling for help, that her parents had been in a fight. She sounded pretty desperate, but the crew came up as quickly as they could," Ceman told CBS. "It became apparent last night that something serious had happened, but we didn't know how serious." Manzanares, 39, participated in his first court appearance Thursday by teleconference from Juneau, where he is in custody. He appeared to be crying at times before the hearing and near the start, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin F. McCoy began speaking. Manzanares dabbed at his eyes and nose with tissues. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit during the proceedings. He had his ankles shackled and was wearing slip-on shoes. McCoy appointed assistant Federal Defender Jamie McGrady to represent Manzanares. McGrady was not at the hearing and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bail has not been set and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 10. McCoy approved change of venue from Anchorage to Juneau for further proceedings. Manzanares has no criminal history, according to online Utah court records. The ship was diverted to Juneau because of the investigation, which the FBI is leading because the death occurred in U.S. waters. ___ Becky Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska. Contributing to this report were AP writer Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City and AP researcher Monika Mathur in New York. Join the conversation about this story » from http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-employer-utah-woman-killed-on-cruise-was-trusted-adviser-2017-7 President Donald Trump, speaking in Brentwood, New York, on Friday, insisted that the MS-13 street gang, a target of his hardline immigration and anti-crime proposals, are turning US communities "into blood-stained killing fields." Trump was speaking to law enforcement officers on Long Island, home of Suffolk County, which has seen 17 killings linked to the gang over the last 18 months. Federal officials have charged suspects in only two of the homicides, including the September killing of two teenage girls from Brentwood. In his speech, Trump mentioned that case and elaborated on other crimes attributed to the gang in graphic terms. "They butchered those little girls. They kidnap. They extort. They rape, and they rob. They prey on children. They shouldn't be here," Trump said. "They stomp on their victims. They beat them with clubs. They slash them with machetes, and they stab them with knives. They have transformed peaceful parks and beautiful, quiet neighborhoods into blood-stained killing fields," he went on. "They're animals. We cannot tolerate as a society the spilling of innocent, young, wonderful, vibrant, people — sons and daughters, even husbands and wives. We cannot accept this violence one day more." Trump has blamed his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for allowing the gang to take root in the US, but it has actually been present in some form since the 1970s and 1980s, when immigrants from Central America — El Salvador in particular — fled conflicts there for the US, with many settling in Los Angeles. An increase in deportations sent many of the gang's members back to Central America in the 1990s, returning them to countries to which many had no real connections or had never even been to. In unstable post-conflict environments in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the gang grew quickly. It has expanded into extortion, human smuggling, and firearms trafficking, among other crimes. In the years since, it has continued to grow and spread to the US, where it is active among communities of Central Americans. The Justice Department has estimated there are over 10,000 members in the US and that it is active in 40 states. The gang's "cliques," or branches, in the US have mainly been involved in local-level crime — extortion, drug dealing, and theft. But in places like Suffolk County and Montgomery County, Maryland, they are more active. The 17 homicides the gang is connected to in Suffolk County over the past year are 38% of the total. Investigations of MS-13-linked killings in Montgomery County have jumped to seven each of the last two years after being about one in previous years. The gang has also grown more bold there, moving from targeting illicit businesses to extorting legitimate ones run by Central Americans. Members of the Trump administration have compared the gang to Colombian or Italian mafias, and while MS-13 cliques have been linked to Mexican transnational drug cartels —working with the Sinaloa, Gulf, and Zetas cartels, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration — the gang's actual involvement in the drug trade appears to be limited, in some cases just to local markets. Despite the focus on it, it's not clear that MS-13 is as large or as powerful as reputed. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 125,211 people in fiscal year 2015, with 322 MS-13 members among them, according to CNN. In fiscal year 2016, 114,434 people were arrested, with 429 MS-13 members among them. In the current fiscal year, which began in October 2016, 253 of the gang's members have been arrested. Many have welcomed Trump's hardline on immigration and his focus on the gang. But both members and police have said it could backfire. SEE ALSO: 7 things Trump gets wrong about MS-13 Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 'You're inflaming everybody!': Watch reporters clash with Sanders over press coverage from http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ms-13-has-turned-us-into-blood-stained-killing-fields-2017-7 President Donald Trump appeared to advocate for tougher police conduct during a speech to law enforcement officials in Brentwood, New York on Friday. Trump took a moment during the speech, which was focused on the administration's efforts to destroy the street gang MS-13, to let the law enforcement officers know he is okay with them being rougher while apprehending violent suspects. After saying that his administration is speedily ridding the country of "criminal cartels" (although he added that "we'd like to get them out a lot faster"), he launched into an unscripted rant related to how cops put suspects into the back of police vehicles. "When you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough," Trump said. "I said, 'please don't be too nice.'" "Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over. Like, 'don't hit their head' and they've just killed somebody," Trump said. "'Don't hit their head.' I said, 'you can take the hand away.' OK?" The cops standing behind Trump gave a loud round of applause. Watch Trump's comments:
Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 'You're inflaming everybody!': Watch reporters clash with Sanders over press coverage from http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tells-cops-not-to-be-too-nice-while-arresting-thugs-2017-7 |
AuthorHi I am Alana Smith 35 years old living in New York. I am working as an assistant in local law office. I like to share legal news with people to educate them. Archives
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