Law in Practice

Gemma Lindfield and Amelia Nice look behind the headlines at Spain’s extradition request of the ex-Catalan Leader and its subsequent withdrawal. Does the concept of ‘political offence’ have broader import?  

On 3 November 2017, Spain issued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for the deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four former regional ministers.  

Democracy is undermined if we silence whistleblowing sources in the public sector, argues Lucie Wibberley, who reports on the key issues arising from the trial of prison officer Robert Norman  

Robert Norman, a journalistic source and prison officer, was jailed in 2015 for providing truthful accounts of the difficulties and dangers at HMP Belmarsh to journalist Stephen Moyes, in return for payment by the Daily Mirror and News of the World. 

Anthony Philpott tests legal professional privilege principles against recent case law as in-house lawyers become closer to business operations  

In Ernest Hemmingway’s novel ‘To Have and Have Not’ the character of Harry Morgan captures the independence of the ‘man of action’ and the adversity he faces.  

Angus McCullough QC considers the role of judicial review as the EU Withdrawal Bill is enacted, and after Brexit day has dawned  

A flash-back to 1980: the first series of the TV sitcom, Yes Minister  and a discussion between a Permanent Secretary (Sir Humphrey Appleby) and his Minister (the Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP): 

#MeToo has been a powerful force for good but in the court of social media, ‘I don’t know’ could be the fairest verdict of all, writes The Secret Barrister  

An old stand-up routine – I forget whose – used to poke fun at those old-style newspaper polls where members of the public were invited to phone a premium rate number and express their view on a contentious issue of the day. 

With influential voices questioning the scale and nature of adoption in the UK, Damian Woodward-Carlton looks at the question, raised by Lord Justice McFarlane, whether the current model is the right one 

Peter Susman QC provides a beginner’s guide to Blockchain and Bitcoin, and suggests the Bar has nothing to fear from such innovations 

A day in the life of Ugandan lawyer Lora Atim, working in Gulu to protect widows and orphans from land grabbing and end impunity for violence against the poor 

Time for legal aid to break free from party political discourse? Yes, argues Lucie Wibberley, in light of the recommendations of the Bach Commission for a new Right to Justice Act 

Peter Herbert OBE offers a personal perspective on three decades of racial inequality. The Lammy Review published in September makes shocking reading, but will it make a difference? he asks