Lord Irvine is discovering that attack is not always the best form of defence. Furious at the Law Society's high-profile national newspaper campaign against legal aid, Lord Irvine accused the society of "irresponsible scare mongering" and spreading lies. The result? An even higher-profile Law Society campaign with nearly every national newspaper running articles about the adverts, which claim that two thirds of labour's backbench MPs believe the legal aid system should be left as it is. Perhaps Lord Irvine should apply to be a Law Society spin doctor.
Woolf rules make their mark as courts usher in civil reforms
Landmark rulings in London and Bristol courts have marked the introduction of Lord Woolf’s civil justice reforms. In the Chancery Division of the High Court Mr Justice Neuberger refused, under the new equal footing rules, an application which would have stopped one side instructing a QC, while in Bristol County Court a judge declared a […]