Law in Practice

‘Shifting powers’ and an ‘unfair, hostile and resource-driven’ climate are sidelining the needs of vulnerable defendants and witnesses, the ICCA’s ambitious inaugural conference heard. David Wurtzel reports  

The first annual conference of the Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA) on 29 October 2016, organised by Bernard Richmond QC, chose as its theme the vulnerable client.  

A call for views: Justin Fenwick QC explains how a properly thought-out contingency legal aid fund on a not-for-profit basis could fit into the new landscape of litigation funding  

The idea of a contingency legal aid fund (known for short as ‘CLAF’) has been around for a long time, with the first preliminary feasibility study having been issued by the Bar Council as long ago as January 1998.  

Jonathan Fisher QC briefs readers on the most radical overhaul of law on criminal property since the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002  

The Criminal Finances Bill is currently making its way through Parliament with strong all-party support.  

Richard Hearnden sets out the case for greater use of cheaper, off-the-shelf systems in the Crown court without recourse to changes in the law  

The publication of Transforming Our Justice System , by the Ministry of Justice, the Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals in September 2016, marks another milestone on the road to the digitisation of court proceedings.  

Sir Jeffrey Jowell QC asks whether the Lord Chancellor should have acted to stem the misleading and inflammatory media allegations which continue in the wake of the Miller case  

Visitors from abroad have always been mystified by our uncodified constitution.  

Deciding how we Brexit is not within the government's gift, argues Dominic Grieve QC MP. No Parliament worth its name can abandon input into the biggest and most complex constitutional change in modern times. Discussion is vital 

How will losing passporting rights affect the UK’s financial services sector? Saima Hanif argues that the equivalence regime is not a satisfactory alternative  

As the President of the European Council Donald Tusk remarked, in response to comments from Boris Johnson that the UK could have its cake and eat it by keeping single market access without accepting free movement of persons: ‘There will be no cakes on the table, for anyone. There will be only salt and vinegar…’ 

Professor Michael Zander QC assesses the High Court decision and predicts the government is likely to lose its appeal to the Supreme Court  

Asked on the day for a first assessment of the decision I wrote: ‘The Divisional Court’s unanimous decision is very clear and very strong.  

Ali Naseem Bajwa QC and Eva Niculiu examine the issues raised by use of the complainant’s sexual history in the Ched Evans rape retrial  

On the night of 29-30 May 2011, a professional footballer, Clayton McDonald, on a night out in Rhyl, North Wales, met a 19-year-old waitress who was heavily intoxicated. McDonald took her back to his hotel room.  

When does the state have the right to interfere in family life on the basis of radical views held by family members? Damian Woodward-Carlton reports on the inherent difficulties arising in the family courts  

Family lawyers and courts are currently grappling with the most fundamental of questions: when does the state have the right to interfere in family life on the basis of the views – however unpalatable – of some family members, or their interest in exploring, viewing and reading material which others might find abhorrent?