Law News from Times Online

Soldier's mother wins court fight over Snatch Land Rovers

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:13 GMT

The mother of a soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq has won the first round of a legal battle for an investigation into the use of the lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers.

Buy-to-let landlords can claim millions as Foxtons loses commissions case

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Thousands of buy-to-let landlords could be in line to claim millions back from estate agents as a result of a landmark High Court ruling yesterday against Foxtons.

British company pleads guilty to corruption

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:31:49 GMT

A leading UK bridge-building company appeared in court today to say it will plead guilty to charges of overseas corruption and breaching United Nations sanctions.

Foxtons loses legal battle over landlord fees

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:52:53 GMT

Foxtons, the estate agency, today lost a High Court case when a judge ruled that some of the terms and conditions it imposes on landlords are unclear and unfair.

Rio workers face jail as China gathers evidence

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:02:40 GMT

Four Rio Tinto workers detained in China over espionage and bribery claims are facing nearly a year and a half in jail while authorities gather evidence against them.

China accuses detained Rio workers of bribery

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:25:40 GMT

Rio Tinto today expressed "surprise" at claims made by China's state media that four of the Anglo Australian mining giant's employees bribed local workers during annual iron ore supply contract talks.

Partners’ profits down by tenth at Allen & Overy law firm

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:42 GMT

A dramatic shake-up in Allen & Overy led to partners’ profits falling by almost 10 per cent last year, Britain’s fourth-largest law firm discloses today.

Judges to work overtime as cuts and delays put justice at risk

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:35 GMT

Courts face having to sit for an extra two hours a day as they struggle with rising workloads coupled with an unprecedented drive to cut costs.

Case studies: The defendant and the solicitor

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:11 GMT

The defendant

Magistrates angry over cuts as on-the-spot fines replace court hearings

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Magistrates are angry that they are being made to carry the brunt of cuts because their workload is being diverted away from the courts.

British company to plead guilty in first corruption prosecution

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:48:12 GMT

A British company will appear before magistrates tomorrow in the first Serious Fraud Office prosecution over overseas corruption.

Shadow minister calls for power to be given back to the people

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:06:08 GMT

Within a few months of taking office, Gordon Brown declared that “the character of our country will be defined by how we write the next chapter of British liberty”.

East Coast debacle puts rail franchise rules in spotlight

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:05:11 GMT

We were back last week in that parallel universe whose jurisdiction is the “court of public opinion”. A steady chorus demanded that National Express should be stripped of its two other rail franchises, East Anglia and c2c, in the event that it decided to walk away from the East Coast Main Line route despite having paid the due penalty.

End muddle over stem-cell patents or US will race ahead

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:02:59 GMT

The news that synthetic human sperm have been grown from embryonic stem cells for the first time raises the prospect of a breakthrough in male infertility treatment, but also highlights the legal and ethical hurdles that will need to be overcome before the full potential of stem-cell research will be realised.

Joint enterprise law means even bystanders can get life

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:21 GMT

Even bystanders can find themselves convicted of murder under a legal doctrine known as “joint enterprise”. The centuries-old principle enables gang members to be prosecuted for a murder even when there is no evidence as to who inflicted the fatal blow.

Straw promises another increase in media scrutiny of family courts

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Thousands of cases in the family courts will be exposed to increased public scrutiny under reforms to be announced today by Jack Straw.

Lawyer of the week: Ayesha Vardag

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ayesha Vardag, the founder of Ayesha Vardag Solicitors, acts for Katrin Radmacher, the German heiress who has won a landmark Court of Appeal case, where the judges ruled that prenuptial agreements should be taken into account by the courts in England and Wales when dividing assets in a divorce.

Jack Straw sticks to promises on family courts reporting reforms

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Jack Straw is sticking to his guns and doing what he promised The Times he would, in response to our campaign to open up the family courts.

China arrests Rio Tinto executive for 'spying'

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:01:27 GMT

A Rio Tinto executive detained by Chinese authorities has been accused of spying and stealing state secrets.

Jack Straw to close legal loophole used by fugitive war criminals

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:39:33 GMT

Suspects in the Rwandan and Yugoslavian genocides could be tried in British courts under proposals announced by Jack Straw yesterday to stop Britain becoming a “safe haven” for war criminals.

Rio Tinto executives arrested in China

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:48:06 GMT

Rio Tinto's iron ore sales team has been arrested in Shanghai, threatening a diplomatic rift between Australia and China.

Amendment to relax law on assisted dying is thrown out by peers

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A move to relax the law on assisted dying was thrown out by the Lords on Tuesday night.

Yorkshire lawyer Sir Nigel Knowles took on the world and won

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In 1988 Nigel Knowles was a lawyer working for Broomheads & Neals, a small Sheffield-based firm, when it merged with a Leeds-based practice, Dibb Lupton. In little more than two decades since, he has helped to turn the business — DLA Piper — into the world’s biggest law firm by revenue.

Yorkshire lawyer Nigel Knowles took on the world and won

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tribunals Service creaks as claims soar by 40 per cent

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:22:53 GMT

The credit crunch has prompted a massive surge in claims lodged by employees against their bosses as people face redundancy or problems at work over contracts or working hours.