Law: Briefs
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.THE FORMER Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern is not a lawyer whom one would expect to find sunning himself on one of the tropical beaches of the Caribbean.
But duty calls, and the former cabinet minister is off to Trinidad and Tobago to head up a three-man commission to examine the administration of justice on the Caribbean islands. Lord Mackay will have little time to don swimming trunks, as the inquiry is to consider some fairly weighty matters. Not least of which is: what influence do Caribbean drug cartels have on the justice system there?
SIR SYDNEY Kentridge is proof that the "cab rank rule" - the convention that a barrister must take the first case that comes along - is alive and well.
After being appointed legal adviser to the Lord Chancellor in an appeal against a sex discrimination ruling, Sir Sydney has been named as the lawyer who will defend Jeffrey Archer at his appearance before the Conservative Party's ethics and integrity committee. Sir Sydney, a member of the "pounds 1m club" for super-silks, must lament the days when he took a run of cases that included such human rights notables as Nelson Mandela and the family of Steve Biko.
IT IS a long-standing tradition that scriptwriters working on the Law Society's Christmas review should make repeated and scurrilous reference to the society's elected leaders.
But one name in Friday's review was conspicuous by its absence. A last- minute edict from on high banned any mention of the Law Society's vice- president, Kamlesh Bahl, the former head of the Equal Opportunities Commission, now at the centre of bullying allegations.
ONE IN four law firms has adopted an "ostrich approach" to the Y2K problem. According to the accountants Grant Thornton, 23 per cent of firms have no contingency plans for any disasters arising from the millennium bug.
The report claims that the law firms, 15 per cent of which are from the top tier of practices, have failed to focus on "critical IT operations and date-sensitive micro-processor equipment". The accountants says that this could leave some law firms without electricity, telephones and even transport.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments