News
Top judge blasts legal aid delays in child case
Leslie Samuels QC recently appeared in Re D is: RE D (A CHILD) (NO.2) [2015] EWFC 2, where Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, criticised the delays in processing the parents’ public funding applications and said that the parents could be forgiven for thinking they were trapped in a system that was ‘neither […]
IHT Transfers of Value in Relation to Pension Funds
Jennifer Lee discusses the case of Parry and others v HMRC [2014] UKFTT 419 (TC) (7 May 2014), in which the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) held that a transfer of funds to a personal pension plan was not a transfer of value for inheritance tax purposes. However, an omission to take lifetime benefits from a […]
Can our legal system cope with Social Media?
With Professor Cheryl Thomas, Simon Phillips QC and Carl Gardner, Charles Parry was asked to speak to students of the Inner temple on ‘Can our legal system cope with Social Media?’ The question largely addressed issues surrounding jury management in the context of social media and internet research. Charles had represented Dr Dora Dallas, a […]
Man who claimed he bribed officials prosecuted for illegal sale of dogs
Richard Tutt, a member or our Regulatory and Disciplinary Team, was instructed by Havant Borough Council to prosecute this case that concerned the sale of two Highland Terrier puppies, in the course of a business, without a licence, contrary to section 1 of the Pet Animals Act 1951. During the course of the investigation the […]
Ezra Macdonald joins Pump Court Chambers
Pump Court Chambers is delighted to announce that Ezra Macdonald has joined Chambers following successful completion of his pupillage. Ezra has a mixed practice, with a primary focus on personal injury and employment law. He has experience of a broad range of court advocacy, including in the Employment Tribunals, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the County […]
Child returned to parent
Jennifer Lee recently appeared in an urgent hearing for the peremptory return of a young child who had been wrongfully retained by the father on Christmas Day. The Court acceded to the application for the child’s immediate return at the first/urgent hearing. The issues are all the more complex because it has now transpired that […]
Police officer’s rank restored on appeal
Colin Banham has successfully represented a Metropolitan Police Officer at the Police Appeals Tribunal following an original outcome of reduction in rank under the Police (Performance) Regulations 2008. Following oral submissions, the Tribunal overturned the original outcome as they found there were ‘exceptional circumstances’ justifying an extension to the final written improvement notice. The Officer’s […]
Why might 2015 see more IPFD Act 1975 claims than ever before?
The 1975 Act provides for six categories of applicant. Amendment to the statutory language has expanded, two of these and a recent case has demonstrated the a third might be interpreted far more liberally than previously thought. Mark Dubbery discusses in his latest article for Law Skills why more people than ever before, will find […]
Sentence reduced upon appeal
Sarah Jones has successfully appealed a sentence of 26 years’ imprisonment for offences of rape against two young girls in the court of appeal on the case of R v Nash. The court of appeal accepted Defence submissions that although the offending had been extremely serious against the younger sisters of the Defendant’s wife a […]
Social Media Charter, Davos
The Social Media Charter, an initiative promoting compliant use of social media in the financial services industry, is advised by Charles Parry. Much of this territory is still uncharted, with the Financial Conduct Authority planning to publish guidance at the end of March 2015. Hitherto the FCA has been consulting stakeholders and has already published […]
Defendant cleared of drug charges
A woman from Salford, Manchester has been acquitted of conspiring to sell controlled drugs following a long-running trial at Bolton Crown Court. The defendant, who was successfully represented by Colin Banham, was cleared of any wrong doing at the trial. She was alleged to have played a vital role in a conspiracy to sell £3.6m […]
Paediatrician goes on trial for alleged historical rapes
A Court has heard how a consultant paediatrician allegedly raped and indecently assaulted young girls in the 1970s and 80s thinking he was “bomb-proof” because no one would believe a child over him, a jury has been told. Former paediatrician Michael Salmon, 79, who worked at hospitals including Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, which have been […]