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| Juries
in Cases of Serious and Complex Fraud
By George Staple
QC, Clifford Chance
We have been debating the use of juries
in complex fraud trials on and off for 20 years. However, the discharge
of the jury in the Jubilee Line corruption trial, after sitting
for 18 months without returning verdicts, has put the question back
under the spotlight.
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| Selection
of Expert Witnesses
By Bill Braithwaite
QC, Head of Exchange Chambers
A good expert, carefully selected for his or her
expertise and independence, can add millions of pounds to a claim.
A bad one can either de-value compensation by that amount or, worse
still, can let you down whilst giving evidence. |
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| The
Clementi Report, LDPs and Criminal Justice: A different View From
the Bar
By Ian West, Barrister, Fountain Chambers
Middlesbrough
In his Report of the Review
of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales,
Sir David Clementi puts forward radical proposals about how the
professions of barrister and solicitor should be organised and regulated. |
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| Shaken
Baby Syndrome
By Robert D. Bennett, trial attorney, Robert
D. Bennett & Associates, P.C.
This article is intended
to acquaint the reader with a basic knowledge of this syndrome as
well as suggestions on how to prepare a proper defense and spot
weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. |
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Mental
Health Bill ‘Fundamentally Flawed’
By Rowena Daw, Head
of Policy Development, Mind (National Association for Mental Health)
The Bill will permit compulsory
treatment in the community largely at the discretion of the clinical
supervisor. Service users and most professionals oppose this extension
of coercive powers into the community as unsafe for patients, burdensome
for their families, unnecessary if there are adequate community
services, and contrary to human rights.
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Price Erosion in Patent Damages
By By Gregory J. Urbanchuk and Richard J.
Gering Ph.D.
“Quantification of damage
in a case such as the present (of a patentee manufacturer) is a
much harder, and less certain, task than I had hitherto thought”
(Gerber Garment Technology Inc. v. Lectra Systems Ltd. (1995) R.P.C.
383). This complexity, coupled with the potential for substantial
awards, emphasises the importance of expert economic evidence in
establishing a robust reliable claim for damages arising from patent
infringement. |
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| Chambers
administration: Chief executives v Senior Clerks
By Adam Cooke, editor, Linex Legal
It is difficult to predict
with too much certainty what the future holds as far as chambers
administration is concerned. What can almost certainly be said is
that the days of the senior clerk single-handedly running all the
support functions (finance, marketing, IT etc) of chambers are fast
coming to an end if they have not already ended. |
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| Broadcasting
the courts
By Bruce Houlder QC, Chairman, Public Affairs
Committe, Bar Council
Discreet cameras, and a proper code of broadcasting ethics
and protocols for the courts can dispel the real concerns that the
presence of cameras alone would cause problems in the trial process |
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| Raising
the small claims court limit for personal injury cases would be
nothing short of a disaster for access to justice
By Allan Gore QC, president, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
(APIL)
Solid groundwork has been carried out in APIL to develop
a campaign to persuade the Government against raising the small
claims court limit for personal injury cases. As new president of
this 5,000 strong organisation, I support this campaign to persuade
the Government that such a move would be nothing short of a disaster
for access to justice.. |
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THE VALUATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
By Edward Ross-McNairn and Mike Parker of Bishop Fleming’s
Forensic Services Group
Intellectual Property is
recognised as the most important asset of many of the world’s
largest and most powerful companies. It is the foundation for market
dominance and continuing profitability of leading corporations.
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Confidence and greater certainty for consumers of legal services
By Kevin Martin, President, Law Society
The Law Society is looking forward to the new arrangements
for appointing Queens Counsel. Invitations to apply under the new
system have been advertised widely and it is expected that the first
appointments will be made in the first half of next year. |
