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Could this new ruling open the flood gates?

Two women who believed their ex-husbands had misled the court about how much they were worth have recently won the right to have their settlements re-examined. Is that the sound of a can of worms opening? Alison Sharland (48) and Varsha Gohil (50) have argued that they are entitled to more money following separation and […]

Do you smoke while driving?

October 1st will see a new law come into effect across England and Wales banning smoking in vehicles containing children under the age of 18. It doesn’t apply to lone drivers or those in a convertible car with the top down and anyone caught in the act could face a £50 fine. Despite the media […]

Firms face up to legal aid ‘limbo’

A criminal defence firm in Leeds is turning to technology to ensure its survival as firms await the outcome of the Ministry of Justice’s tender for a reduced number of legal aid contracts. O’Garra’s Solicitors has developed software that will enable fee-earners to take client instructions digitally, automatically generate bespoke client letters and email files […]

Pet-nup

More and more couples are living together before committing to marriage in modern day Britain, and this has created the need for pre-nuptial agreements, pre-marital agreements or pre-civil partnership agreements in order to protect their assets if they should ever part ways. But what happens if you have a pet together? Who decides who gets […]

Technology Development

This week sees us launch a pioneering technology development that will drive efficiencies and cost savings for Legal Aid work across criminal law firms. We’ve worked with consultant Paul Fisher to create a new software program to enable fee earners to take client instructions digitally, speeding up the process significantly. This will mean that our […]

The Rise of Revenge Porn

One of the hottest topics on crime in the news recently has been ‘revenge porn’ – a new phenomenon causing chaos across the world. So much so, a dedicated helpline to support victims was created at the start of the year and has seen over 1800 calls in just six months. A record number of […]

Taking Action – Say No to Legal Aid Cuts

As reported in the news recently, solicitors and barristers in Liverpool are threatening to refuse to handle any new criminal cases from July 1 and meetings are taking place in other parts of the country to discuss similar action. Lawyers across the UK are co-ordinating protests against cuts in legal aid fees and around 100 […]

Human Rights Act

Earlier this month the UK saw an election, as you probably know. Now that Conservatives have been voted in, what does that mean for the Human Rights Act? According to the Conservative manifesto, the party plans to abolish the Human Rights Act – something they’ve been calling for since it was instated in 1998 […]

Advanced Learning Loans for Offenders in Custody

The UK government has introduced 24+ Advanced Learning Loans for learners aged 24 plus offenders in custody studying at Level 3 or Level 4. The move gives offenders a chance to gain qualifications while serving their sentence. It will applies for offenders applying to study on a 24+ Advanced Learning Loan funded qualification in custody […]

Drug Driving – New Legislation

What this means for you, the driver. Last month new drug-driving offences came into force which stem from recommendations from the North Review published in June 2010. This report looked in depth at how to improve the approach to detecting and prosecuting drug driving. It is an offence to drive while under the influence of […]