Report finds disproportionate number of privately educated barristers, Law Society raises concerns over language test for foreign lawyers
THE HOT STORY
Disproportionate number of privately educated barristers, report finds
The latest snapshot of the bar reveals that the number of privately educated barristers remains disproportionately high compared to the wider population. According to the Bar Standards Board report, 34% of barristers attended state schools, while 19.4% went to independent schools. The report also highlights that the proportion of privately educated barristers would still be higher than the wider population even if all non-respondents had attended state schools. The percentage of privately educated barristers is slowly decreasing, at 33.1% in 2023 compared to 33.5% in 2022. The report also shows that the proportion of women at the bar is gradually increasing, but only two in 10 KCs are women. The proportion of minority ethnic barristers is in line with the UK working age population, and 5.1% of the bar declared a disability.
LAW
Law Society raises concerns over language test for foreign lawyers
Requiring foreign qualified lawyers exempt from the Solicitors Qualifying Examination to prove their English language proficiency could be overly restrictive, according to the Law Society. The Society has raised concerns over the proposed change by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, stating that a degree taught in English may not provide the necessary background in legal terms. The Society also questions the effectiveness of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in testing legal English proficiency. Additionally, the Society suggests that living and working in an English-speaking country for at least two years should be considered proof of English language proficiency. The Law Society also supports lowering the IELTS score requirement from 8.5 to 7.5 for language tests.
Legal aid budget boosted by ￡16m to support solicitors in police stations
Ministers are set to increase the legal aid budget by ￡16m to incentivise solicitors to continue providing advice to suspects in police stations. The pay of duty solicitors and specialists in youth courts will be raised to reflect the importance of their work. This move comes in response to concerns that solicitors were refusing to join duty solicitor schemes due to low fees and the lack of replacements for retiring lawyers. The shortage of duty solicitors also raised the risk of potentially dangerous suspects being released by the police. While barristers received a 15% pay rise in 2022, solicitors argue that the additional funding provided until now only amounted to a 9% increase. The Law Society expressed that the latest cash injection still falls short of the recommended 15% rise.
Court of Appeal supports judge's decision to hold tax fraud trial without jury
The Times ?
The Court of Appeal has supported a judge's decision to hold a tax fraud trial without a jury after one juror felt threatened. The judge dismissed the jury after it was revealed that a juror had been approached outside the trial and felt fearful for his family. The trial judge discharged the juror and ruled that there was a real possibility of bias among the jury. The judge decided to rule on the verdict alone but four defendants appealed, claiming their right to a fair trial would be breached.
FAMILY LAW
Proposed divorce reforms scrapped by Ministry of Justice
Estranged couples will no longer be required to attend mediation after the Ministry of Justice abandoned former government minister Dominic Raab's proposed divorce reforms. The measures, which aimed to divert families away from courts and protect children, would have affected about 19,000 couples annually. However, concerns were raised by mediators that the process should be voluntary rather than coerced. The Ministry of Justice has decided not to introduce legislation to make mediation compulsory, citing concerns that the proposed safeguards did not adequately protect domestic abuse victims. Instead, the ministry will work with the Family Mediation Council to improve training for mediators on domestic abuse and develop a screening tool to identify victims.
Family courts boss says austerity contributed to record number of children in care
BBC News / Daily Mail ?
Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division in England and Wales, has said the record numbers of children being taken into care can be partly attributed to austerity measures. He explained that the family court system, dealing with a higher volume of work than civil and crown courts, faces increased demands due to societal issues. Sir Andrew said: “Over the course of decades our understanding of abuse and what is harmful to children has become far more sophisticated. Also I think it has to be said that with austerity, the resources available to local authorities to do something else other than come to court . . . are not there in the way that they were a decade ago". His comments coincide with the expansion of a pilot scheme aimed at increasing transparency in the family court system. The scheme allows accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on cases while protecting the identities of those involved.
LEGAL TECH
Hope for grants for small firms to invest in lawtech
Grants for small firms to invest in lawtech and funds to fix courts are on the Law Society's wish list for the spring budget. The Society's 10-page submission highlights legal services' ￡60bn annual contribution to the economy and calls for the removal of an 'investment penalty' by extending corporation tax relief to legal partnerships. The Society also proposes broadening the National Skills Fund for retraining and supporting legal businesses, especially SMEs, in hiring apprentices. On legal aid, the Society urges an immediate injection of ￡30m in criminal legal aid to make up the shortfall in meetings the recommendations of the independent Bellamy review. Meanwhile ￡11.3m more for civil legal aid could prevent the system's collapse while the ongoing review takes place.
COMMERCIAL LAW
Mike Lynch sues SFO for alleged data breaches
The Daily Telegraph / City AM ?
Mike Lynch, the technology tycoon who is accused of duping Hewlett-Packard into overpaying for his software firm Autonomy, has filed a data protection claim against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the High Court in London. The details of the case have not been made public, but Lynch has hired the law firm Pallas Partners to pursue the legal action against the SFO's director, Nick Ephgrave. Following the Autonomy deal, Hewlett-Packard took an $8.8bn writedown and blamed Lynch for perpetrating a $5bn fraud. Lynch has denied the accusations and lost a civil fraud case in the UK in 2022. Evidence provided by the SFO has been used in the US case against Lynch but the SFO has refused Lynch's request for the data, prompting the legal action.
BT faces groundbreaking class action lawsuit overcharging allegations
Financial Times / I ?
More than 3m BT landline customers could receive compensation if a ground-breaking class action legal case decides the telecoms group exploited its dominant market powers to overcharge them. The case, seeking ￡1.3bn in compensation, is the first of its kind and will be closely watched by the legal industry, insurers, and consumer groups. If successful, affected customers could receive damages ranging between ￡300 and ￡400 each. BT's critics claim that many customers have already died without receiving compensation and are still being overcharged. Former Ofcom regulator Justin Le Patourel, founder of Collective Action on Land Lines, is bringing the case and believes that millions of customers could be owed hundreds of pounds each.
PROPERTY LAW
Homeowner loses ￡43k tax battle over main residence claim
A homeowner has lost a ￡43,000 tax battle with HM Revenue & Customs over his claim that a property in east London was his main residence. Sammir Patwary attempted to claim private residence relief on the sale of the property, but the judge ruled that he had limited proof he lived there permanently. Patwary's evidence included mortgage statements, a letter from a shower company, and water bills. He had not registered to vote at the property and had post delivered to his parents' house. The tribunal judge dismissed his appeal, stating there was "remarkably little evidence" to support his claim. Nimesh Shah, of the accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg, said: "Private residence is one of the most commonly used and valuable reliefs in the tax system. So there are plenty of occasions when HMRC will want to test that someone actually lived in a property when they say they did."
Building landlords ordered to pay for cladding scandal
A court has ordered building landlords to pay for the costs of fixing fire-risk flats in the Olympic Village. The verdict sets a precedent for building landlords to pay for Britain's cladding scandal, protecting flat owners and taxpayers. The ruling comes after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 exposed serious defects in buildings, including flammable cladding and missing fire barriers. The cladding scandal has affected 4.2m people across Britain, with owners of 1.5m flats unable to sell or get a mortgage due to safety concerns. The court ruling orders building owners and developers to pay for fixing hazards, setting a precedent to help flat owners nationwide.
New rules to tackle anti-social council house tenants
The Daily Telegraph / Daily Mail ?
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The government is set to unveil proposals that would allow social landlords to evict anti-social tenants and ban them from applying for council housing for five years. Under the plans, tenants could be evicted after three warnings for disruptive behaviour, and they would then be barred from reapplying for two years. People with unspent convictions and anti-social behaviour orders could also face restrictions. Housing Secretary Michael Gove is expected to launch a consultation on the scheme.?
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Government proposes reimposing fees on English and Welsh workers seeking to sue boss
Workers in England and Wales would need to pay to bring cases to employment tribunals under newly published government proposals.?The fees were withdrawn in 2017, after trade union Unison successfully argued at the Supreme Court that they prevented thousands of employees, and particularly those on low incomes, from securing justice. Justice minister Mike Freer, introducing the consultation, said new charges would “ensure users are paying towards the running costs of the tribunals, and put [their] users on broadly the same footing as users of other courts and tribunals who already pay fees.” Under the new proposals, a claimant would pay ￡55 to issue any claim at the employment tribunal, and an appellant would pay the same amount at the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Unlike the previous regime, no hearing fee will be incurred under the government’s proposals.
MPs call for ban on NDAs in sexual misconduct cases
Sky News / BBC News / Daily Telegraph / The Times / London Evening Standard ?
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of sexual misconduct and harassment should be banned, according to a report from the Commons women and equalities committee. The report also suggests a retrospective moratorium on past NDAs signed in similar circumstances. The committee warns that perpetrators of sexual misconduct are being protected by the system. The MPs' recommendation comes after an inquiry into the use of NDAs following an investigation into former Topshop owner Sir Philip Green. The report also addresses the issue of misogyny within the music industry and calls for licensing of recording studios and conditional public funding and licenses for music venues.?
More than a quarter of UK employees are subject to non-compete clauses
Financial Times / GOV.UK / The Times ?
More than a quarter of employees in the UK are subject to non-compete clauses that make it harder to switch jobs, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said in a report by its microeconomics research unit. The report warns that the prevalence of such contracts is a barrier to job switching across the economy and hurts productivity. It notes that the clauses are becoming prevalent even in sectors such as retail, education and food services, where there is no apparent need to protect intellectual property. “Non-competes are typically justified on the basis of enabling investment in workers through training or sharing confidential information, that employers may be less willing to do if employees might take these skills straight to a competitor,” the CMA said. “On this basis we might expect to see non-competes only in particular industries or groups of workers where this sort of investment is happening. However, we have found that they are prevalent across the economy in all industries and across the whole income distribution. This includes some of the lowest-paid workers, who might be less likely to receive this sort of training or investment.”?The CMA study also found that working from home had stabilised since the pandemic: about 20% of job vacancies offer remote and hybrid working.
Border Force union launches court bid to challenge government's minimum service levels
The Times ?
Union officials for Border Force staff are planning to launch a court bid to challenge the government's legislation on minimum service levels during strikes. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) will seek a judicial review, arguing that the legislation violates human rights law. Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the PCS, stated that it is a fundamental human right for workers to withdraw their labour to protect their terms. Neil Todd, a lawyer at the firm Thompsons Solicitors, which is representing the union, said that "minimum service levels are very difficult to justify in a legal regime which is already so restrictive regarding trade union rights." He said the regulations that apply to the Border Force staff "provide an unlimited freedom to undermine the right to strike, which PCS says is unlawful, both in exceeding powers under the Strikes Act and international law."
FIRMS
Magic circle firm may stop paying partners who leave for rivals
Linklaters is considering a proposal to withhold "retained profit distributions" from partners who defect to rival firms. This move, potentially a response to poaching raids by American rivals, could result in departing partners losing significant amounts of money. Last year, Linklaters reported that full-equity partners earned an average of ￡1.78m each. The crackdown is intended to send a message to competitors and the firm's own lawyers. American firms have been targeting top-tier English firms, with Linklaters losing 13 partners to such raids last year.
SRA contacts 1,000 law firms over poor sanctions compliance
City AM ?
The UK's legal regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has contacted over 1,000 law firms with poor sanctions compliance systems. After a survey last year, the SRA identified a large number with inadequate controls. The regulator has written to the firms, providing guidance on sanctions risk assessments and client identification procedures. The SRA has also included information on a free online tool offered by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). Juliet Oliver, SRA deputy chief executive, said: “The sanctions regime applies to all firms that provide legal services, not just those that are captured by the anti-money laundering regulations.” Last year, nearly 130 UK companies disclosed breaching Russia-related sanctions.
DLA Piper sees profits dip despite revenue rise
One of the UK's biggest law firms, DLA Piper, experienced a marginal fall in profits last year, despite a healthy 14% rise in revenue. The increase in salary costs and other post-Covid expenses caused profits to dip below ￡200m. Revenue grew by 14% to ￡678m, driven by higher billing rates and an increase in fee earner headcount. However, wages and salaries rose by 16.2% to ￡264m, surpassing revenue growth. The firm attributed the rise in costs to the increase in headcount and travel expenses, which were previously reduced due to the pandemic. As a result, profit available for division among members decreased by 1.2% to ￡197.6m. The firm's balance sheet remained strong, with a 5.6% increase in net assets to ￡253.6m. DLA Piper's UK LLP performed well in all regions, with turnover increasing in the UK, Europe, and Asia. The number of fee earners with the UK LLP also rose during the year.
Law firm to monitor office attendance
City AM ?
Law firm Clifford Chance is set to monitor how often its lawyers are in the office. The firm introduced a hybrid working policy in 2021, requiring staff to be in the office for 50% of their time. A spokesperson said that the firm will “start to review data of individual attendance” to help managers “better understand and support their team’s adherence to our hybrid working policy.” Elsewhere, rival firm Slaughter and May is clamping down on lawyers who are not attending the office by tracking their attendance and sharing the data with group heads and HR.
CASES
Legal challenge looms over government's failure to define onshore wind development
City A.M. ?
The government may face a legal challenge over its failure to define onshore wind development as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects in its revised policy on energy infrastructure. Environment group Good Law Project, represented by law firm Leigh Day, has issued a legal threat and sent a pre-action letter to the government. If an unsatisfactory response is received, a claim for judicial review will be advised. The challenge focuses on the government's failure to provide reasons for excluding onshore wind in line with the Net Zero Target. It comes after a a recommendation by National Infrastructure Commission that “onshore wind should be included in the revised energy National Policy Statement and brought back within the scope of the Planning Act 2008.
Bank of England faces Libor manipulation claim
Claims that the Bank of England encouraged the manipulation of Libor will be heard in the High Court as part of a ￡1.3bn dispute between businessman Ardeshir Naghshineh and Lloyds Banking Group. Mr Naghshineh is suing Lloyds, claiming he would not have taken on loans from HBOS, which Lloyds rescued in 2009, if he had known about alleged "fraudulent manipulation" of the Libor benchmark. According to filings by Mr Naghshineh, "management directions" were issued to manipulate Libor after a meeting between the Bank of England and lenders in 2007. The Bank, which is not a party in the civil case, has previously called similar claims "unsubstantiated." The trial, which will examine claims related to the entrepreneur's property investment company Targetfollow,?will mark the first time that Lloyds has defended claims related to alleged abuse of Libor in a UK trial. Previous claims of a similar nature have?been settled. In 2014,?the Financial Conduct Authority fined Lloyds ￡105m for “serious” failings over Libor and other benchmarks. The bank does not accept that any senior management knew about alleged manipulation of Libor.?
Ukrainian billionaire wins bid to dismiss London lawsuit
Ukrainian billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago has successfully had a London lawsuit thrown out. The lawsuit accused him of embezzling money from the bankrupt lender Finance & Credit Bank. Zhevago, who controls iron pellet producer Ferrexpo, denied any wrongdoing and argued against the case being heard in London. Judge Richard Jacobs upheld Zhevago's challenge. Zhevago, who faced legal challenges and extradition attempts, has been released on bail. Ukrainian prosecutors have also taken action against Zhevago and frozen shares held by Ferrexpo. The ruling is significant as Ukraine aims to combat corruption and meet the conditions for joining the European Union.
High Court judge strikes out case against Revolut
City AM / The Daily Telegraph ?
A High Court judge has struck out a case brought by the son-in-law of a late Russian oligarch against Revolut for "unlawfully" closing his account. Ildar Uzbekov, a British citizen, claimed that Revolut closed his account without explanation, resulting from factual mistakes and a media campaign against him. However, the judge ruled that the case be struck out as an abuse of process, stating that the impact on court resources would outweigh the potential benefit. Revolut argued that keeping Uzbekov's account could damage its reputation amid suspicions of money laundering. The judge suggested that a defamation case would be more appropriate for vindicating Uzbekov's reputation.