Post Office Inquiry live blog: what will the lawyers say?
As lawyers prepare to take the hot seat over the coming months, The Lawyer’s blog will give live updates as they appear in the Post Office Horizon Inquiry.
What Mr Bates and the Post Office can teach us about climate change
“You might think you’re thinking your own thoughts. You’re not. You’re thinking your culture’s thoughts.” Jiddu Krishnamurti We need to talk about our culture’s thoughts. These have been called different things: the dominant world view; our metanarrative; the hegemonic paradigm. Whatever the terminology, it comes down to the prevailing way of thinking, the story we […]
Lord Grabiner KC and others set to be quizzed in Post Office inquiry
One Essex Court’s Lord Anthony Grabiner KC and Anthony De Garr Robinson KC, and partners from Womble Bond Dickinson are set to appear this spring as witnesses in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. Last week (2 February), the inquiry completed Phase 4, which dealt with actions against sub-postmasters and others around policy-making, audits and […]
The Post Office scandal must not undermine the vital role of private prosecutions in securing justice for victims
The Post Office Horizon scandal has led to a renewed scrutiny of private prosecutions and growing calls for a reform of the system, first put forward by the Justice Committee, and which the Justice Secretary is apparently considering. However, it would be entirely wrong to extrapolate errors that occurred in the Post Office prosecutions to […]
Sub-postmaster: ‘We felt mocked by Womble Bond’
A former sub-postmaster has spoken to The Lawyer about his treatment at the hands of various lawyers involved in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. Many sub-postmasters were prosecuted or left financially destitute after the faulty Horizon IT system, created by Japanese company Fujitsu, produced incorrect shortfalls on their accounts, which the Post Office would then force […]
Post Office scandal: SRA chief vows “serious consequences” for solicitors
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) chief, Paul Philip, has vowed serious consequences for any solicitors who have behaved unethically in relation to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. Lawyers have come under renewed scrutiny since the ITV drama Mr Bates v the Post Office sparked widespread public interest in the plight of thousands of sub-postmasters at the […]
In defence of lawyers: why we need to protect group litigation
“All the meetings with MPs, letters to the Minister, more Ministers than you can shake a stick at, years and years – still no one in power hears a word we say”. These were the words of Alan Bates on 31 December 2018, as he watched the former CEO of the Post Office honoured with […]
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The Lawyer Podcast: “Are we the baddies?” – Lawyers and the Post Office scandal
The Lawyer Podcast is back for 2024 and we’re kicking things off by delving into the lessons the legal profession can glean from the Post Office scandal. The Post Office scandal has already become one of the biggest stories of the year and few groups are so closely tied to it as the legal profession. […]
Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry: Fujitsu faces grilling over sub-postmaster prosecutions
The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry will hear from current and former Fujitsu employees this week to examine Fujitsu’s role in supporting the criminal prosecutions of sub-postmasters. William Paul Patterson, the director for the technology company’s UK and Ireland division, Fujitsu Services Limited, will appear on Friday. On Tuesday, Rajbinder Sangha, a former member of Fujitsu’s […]
Womble Bond Dickinson tight-lipped over Post Office role as inquiry rolls on
Womble Bond Dickinson has declined to say whether it has confidence in the partners who conducted the litigation for the Post Office. Its lawyers have come under renewed scrutiny since the ITV drama Mr Bates v the Post Office sparked widespread public interest in the plight of thousands of sub-postmasters at the hands of the Post […]
Post Office scandal: A comprehensive guide of City firms involved
As the nation grapples with the aftermath of ITV’s portrayal of the Post Office scandal in its drama titled Mr Bates v the Post Office, The Lawyer has created a comprehensive guide comprising the myriad City law firms that have been, and continue to be, intricately involved in the high-profile scandal. Freeths Partner James Hartley brought […]
Postmasters lawyer: Post Office legal team may have “stepped over the professional conduct red line”
The lawyer who represented 555 sub-postmasters in the group litigation against the Post Office, Freeths partner James Hartley, has said there needs to be consequences for any lawyers that are found to have stepped over “the professional conduct red line”. The ITV drama Mr Bates v the Post Office, titled after the group litigation of the […]