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NLJ this week: Back in the day… ‘dearth’ of judges, courts like farmyard barns

10 June 2022
Issue: 7982 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Former District Judge Stephen Gold takes another spin in his Tardis this week, revisiting the lawyers of yore (actually 1859 and 1860), as part of an ongoing series to mark 200 years since the founding of NLJ in 1822

As the first street trams rolled down the streets of Birkenhead, The Law Times (forerunner of NLJ) announced plans to publish six-monthly volumes of law reports. The Lord Chief Justice, opening an assize in Guildford, complained it was more like a barn than a court. Overall, there was ‘a dearth of judges and insufficiency of judicial staff’. About 11,000 people per year were sent to prison for debt. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
County court cases are speeding up, with the median time from claim to hearing 62 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims—5.4 weeks faster than last year
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured £1.1m in its first use of an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO)

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