Monday, June 25, 2012

Knockout Success at the Summer fair for Dove House Hospice


Sunday saw Dove House Hospice host their annual ‘It’s a Knockout’ competition at Chamberlain Road. Between 11am and 4pm, friends and families of the hospice combined with businesses battled it out raising money for the charity.

The Summer Fair, was complete with games, a bouncy castle, barbecue, bar and tombola. Each year the event takes place as the adult only, 20 bed hospice creates a buzz about their care for people with life limiting illnesses. With many previous clients in the hospice, Irwin Mitchell proudly work with the owners to walk towards a positive future for one and all.

Jane Wright, Irwin Mitchell’s head of personal injury team at the Leeds office, commented:  “We’re proud to sponsor Dove House’s annual fundraising event. Irwin Mitchell has had a number of clients cared for at the hospice and we are massive supporters of the fantastic work they do.”

Previous fundraising activities include the Hull 10k for the 22 year old charity, and the care it provides for patients who have heart diseases, respiratory diseases, AIDs or HIV, cancer or neurological illnesses is second to none. A real home from home, it deserves all the support it receives from local businesses.

This article was created in partnership with Irwin Mitchell.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

BabyBarista and the Art of War

BabyBarista and the Art of War is published by Bloomsbury and was described by broadcaster Jeremy Vine as "a wonderful, racing read - well-drawn, smartly plotted and laugh out loud" and by The Times as "a cross between The Talented Mr Ripley, Rumpole and Bridget Jones’s Diary". It is based upon the blog he writes for The Times which was described by The Lawyer as "genius".

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Legal blogs

It has taken some time for the blogosphere to really take hold in the field of UK law. However, there have been some trailblazers which are now coming into the mainstream. One of the best of these is the blog of the self-styled Charon QC which provides an eclectic mix of law, humour and contemporary interest ranging from politicis to sport. It's run by Mike Semple-Piggott's team at the online student magazine Consilio and the CPD training for lawyers The Legal Practitioner. It really is highly recommended.

Bringing blogging firmly into the mainstream of legal comment, The Times Newspaper Online provides a blog from Alex Wade entitled A Legal Life. Alex is a media lawyer and writer whose topics range from hard-hitting legal issues to his hobbies of boxing, surfing and poker. He's surrently writing a book about surfing in Britain and he also writes a blog in this respect which can be found at Surf Nation.

If you're after a more general look at legal blogs in this country, then look at Blawgle which is a tailoured search engine for this area provided by Nick Holmes at Info Law. Nick himself also runs an excellent blog which can be found at Binary Law.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Football bungs, Panorama and the Law

Given all the hype surrounding the Panorama programme on corruption in football yesterday, it was surprising to see how little hard evidence they were able to present after such an extensive investigation. In particular, so much of it appeared to be based upon gossip and innuendo.

One of the things that seems to have been missed out in most of the coverage is the potential legal implications. These are just a few. First, if proven, there may be criminal law implications. The Prevention of Corruption Act makes it an offence for agents (and this potentially could include managers and other club officials) to offer or receive a bribe. The offence is punishable by up to 7 years in prison. Other potential offences include conspiracy to corrupt or defraud and also tax evasion. Second, there may be civil law implcations. For example, an employee of a club might be sacked for gross misconduct and potentially for breach of fiduciary duties. There may also be liability for deceit. Besides this, the bung may also serve to undermine and re-open the whole contract. Finally, there are the FA and other professional body regulations. These emphasise that payments should not be made direct to agents and further that clubs should not have any interest in an agency. Conflicts of interest should be declared.

As for the possible victims of secret filming, although strictly entrapment is not a defence in England, they may argue that the use of such evidence is in breach of their right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). They may also suggest that it was an infringement of Article 8 of the ECHR and their right to privacy. Potentially they might also consider actions for breach of that right to privacy and also in defamation depending upon the circumstances.

It should be remembered that this is nothing new to the sport. Preston North End were found guilty of making illegal payments to players as early as the 1880s and Leeds United were only formed after Leeds City were kicked out of League Division 2 in the 1920s for making illegal payments. It is noteworthy that there is a forthcoming report to be made by Lord Stephens on this issue. This coincides with the Italian football investigations. Perhaps the time is ripe for an overhaul of the system similar to that undertaken in the 1990s in relation to doping offences.

The most obvious room for improvement is an end to the alleged culture of turning a blind eye and a little more transparency being introduced. This has to come from the governing bodies and the boardrooms down. Much has been said about the alleged behaviour of managers and agents but it should not be forgotten that the people running the upper echelons of the sport, those deciding whether to put resources into investigations or not, are very often the chairmen and directors of clubs. If the push to clean up football is to succeed, it needs to be from the top down.

This could be coupled with a review of the system of punishments within the game. To some it seems somewhat anomalous that whilst the criminal law could end up sentencing someone for up to 7 years for taking a bribe, the regulatory bodies realistically threaten only fines and relatively short bans from the game. This leaves at least the suggestion of there being a different law for the rich. It is to be hoped that Lord Stephens makes the most of the opportunity with which he is now presented.

by Tim Kevan, barrister, 1 Temple Gardens (www.timkevan.com)

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Book Review: Consumer Credit Act 2006

Consumer Credit Act 2006: A Guide to the New Law (The Law Society, 2006) by Julia Smith and Sandra McCalla
Someone once said that the only thing that you need to understand about the law on consumer credit is that you will never understand it. Thankfully this book disproves that suggestion. It provides a clear and refreshingly accessible guide to the new Act which is the most significant change to the law on consumer credit in the last 30 years. In particular, it covers the new powers which the courts will have to redress the balance in 'unfair relationships' and the extension of powers of the financial ombudsman and the OFT. Highly recommended for all those practising in or affected by this area.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Book Review: The Future of the NHS

The Future of the NHS by Dr Michelle Tempest (xpl Publishing www.xplpublishing.com, 2006)
This is one of special those books that comes along only very occasionally and is truly for everyone to read. It is written by over 40 top health professionals and policy-makers and covers all the big issues facing the NHS. The book starts with chapters from all three political parties (a rare thing in one volume) and is followed by guides to developments in all the main medical disciplines. It then goes on to look at issues such as management and funding of the NHS. Of particular interest to lawyers will be the chapters on the legal issues facing the service. It examines in particular the challenges of clinical negligence cases and what will be the possible effects of the NHS Redress and Compensation Bills. One chapter suggests that the Redress Scheme might be extended to all cases. It also suggests that there should be some immunity for medics in situations of extreme emergency, similar to the immunity barristers used to have in court. The book also looks at some of the employment law issues facing such a large organisation. This provides a really fascinating insight into healthcare provision and issues which affect us all. It is aimed both at professionals and the general public and is a must for anyone wanting to understand some of the issues facing the institution.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Inside the Family Court

Radio Four are airing a two part show based at the ILFPC called 'Inside the Family Court' in which DJ Crichton plays a large role. The first half was last Thursday and dealt with private law cases this Thursday it will be the turn of public law cases.

Last week's show can be downloaded from the BBC Radio Four homepage until (I think) Thursday. This is the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/noscript.shtml/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/family_court"

Posted by:
Emily Beer
Three Dr Johnson's Buildings