The Legal Services Act 2007 could potentially represent the most significant change ever seen to the legal industry in this country. There is no denying the fact that many of the already established legal firms are slightly apprehensive over the introduction of certain provisions of this Act, and with good reason, as the whole ethos of their company and the way in which they carry out their business is likely to be brought into question, once these new laws finally come into effect. The specific legislation to which we are referring in this article is provided for under part V, ss. 71 to 72 of the Act.

Many of us as children and as adults have sat in fields and listened blissfully to the cacophony of birdsong emanating from the hedgerows and woods. Every now and then while trampling through the undergrowth, you would scare up a partridge from its hiding place or discover a nest filled with strangely coloured eggs.

Unfortunately, many of our children and indeed many adults may never get to experience the wonder of our feathered friends. Recent studies show that these and many other once-common birds are no longer as wide spread as they once were. The Guardian reports that populations have decreased as much as 90% in the case of the Grey Partridge, and the Linnet population is now down by 57% in the UK.

The question of whether or not UK human rights law should be watered down has now reached the point of very serious discussion, in the wake of the worst riots in England for over thirty years. Even before these violent outbursts in our cities, many people were claiming that human rights law had already gone too far. With the Prime Minister now advocating a serious departure from our existing human rights commitments, the next couple of years are likely to prove to be extremely interesting in this area of law.

For three years, only two companies were approved by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to carry out telephone hearings. In April 2011 the conference call company Kidatu Ltd. received its approval and now offers free telephone hearings for pro bono cases. Finance Director Paul Thompson said: “Our values are very important to us. We’re delighted to be able to contribute in such a tangible and meaningful way, and once a fee earner has tried our service, they’re happy to use us for non pro bono work.”

The battles seen in the US over software patents could spread to the UK and the rest of Europe if the unitary patent is allowed to come into force.

Europe's 'Unitary Patent' Could Mean Unlimited Software Patents
The battles seen in the US over software patents could spread to the UK and the rest of Europe if the unitary patent is allowed to come into force

Just as the US software industry is experiencing the long-anticipated all-out software patent wars, the European Union has a plan to follow the same course. When the Hargreaves report urged the UK to avoid software patents, the UK government had already approved a plan that is likely to impose them.

We consider when it is right to take a small claim and look at a number of tips to help you succeed.

In last month’s journal we considered the impact of the proposed increase to the small claims regime. One major effect is that it will be more important than ever to have a good understanding of civil litigation. If you have completed the Diploma course, you will be aware of the principles of litigation and this article may be a timely reminder. If you are yet to complete your Diploma, we will outline some top tips to consider when dealing with a potential claim.

The most effective communicators use a style that can change on each occasion and be adapted for each individual. This brings out the best in everyone, especially if you are a manager or team leader. These skills need continual practice and fine-tuning until they become a natural response which is seen by others as appropriate across a wide range of situations. So here are the top ten tips to help you:

How many times have you bitten your tongue recently and then afterwards beaten yourself up for not saying what you thought? Or maybe you said what you thought, only you wished you hadn’t. Delivering a message assertively takes confidence and practice. And the more practice you get, the more your confidence grows, helping you develop the skill of assertiveness. So here are the top ten tips to help you deliver an assertive message:

Following a mystery shopping exercise and report from Dr Dianne Hayter (Chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel), some extraordinary and frightening statistics have emerged regarding the validity of wills – be this through a will writing service or even a Solicitor – all types of providers are often supplying a totally substandard service in this regard. In fact, it has been reported that as many as one in five wills that were thought to have been prepared professionally, may actually be invalid. Even the firms of Solicitors that were assessed showed an equal rate of invalidity to the will writing services, and these findings are quite rightly thought to be completely unsatisfactory.

The coalition government has recently announced that there will be a brief consultation period over the prospect of criminalising squatting in England. This has brought a very controversial subject to the table for deliberation, and we are already tending to notice how strong opinions are from each side of this argument.

We need to be very clear here, whether a civil or criminal matter, squatting is the unlawful occupation of property or land that does not belong to the “squatter”. Whichever way you choose to look at this issue, squatters will always be breaking the law if they choose to reside in accommodation or on land that is not theirs. However, those people stringently opposed to the criminalisation of squatting are quick to point out that there are a number of issues that are much broader here and that need to be considered.