The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced that it is considering dropping a written skills test for new solicitors because black, asian and ethnic minority (BAME) candidates performed worse than white students in its pilot. It said the exam was not fit for purpose anyway. In 2021 the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is set to replace all the current routes to becoming a solicitor, including the requirement for the GDL and LPC. Instead, anyone wanting to become a solicitor will need to complete five elements: a degree or "equivalent qualification"; SQE part 1; SQE part 2; two years' work experience; and a "character and suitability test". The SRA appointed ex-law school...
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As Law360 recently reported, the South Carolina Supreme Court delivered a gift to insurers facing bad faith claims in that state. The court determined that, where a policyholder brings a bad faith claim against its insurer and the insurer answers the claim by denying liability, the policyholder’s right to obtain discovery of the insurer’s attorney-client privileged communications concerning the insurer’s handling of the claim must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Despite the court’s best efforts to balance competing concerns and reach a relatively innocuous holding, this decision will only invite more insurance-related discovery disputes in the future, while...
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Manhattan could elect the next leftist district attorney Even though it’s still two years away, the 2021 Manhattan district attorney race is already getting started. Since June, two challengers have launched campaigns to unseat the three-term incumbent Cyrus Vance Jr., who has held the position for the past decade. Both of the declared candidates, New York Law professor Alvin Bragg and civil rights attorney Janos Marton, are presenting themselves as progressives who will transform the office. In addition, Assemblyman Dan Quart is considering a run, but he hasn’t officially announced. This race will feature the latest in a series of left-leaning first-time candidates challenging incumbents...
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Private prison company sued in death of 1-year-old migrant child HOUSTON (AP) — A woman whose 1-year-old daughter died weeks after they were released from an immigration detention center in Texas filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the private prison company that operates the facility. Lawyers for Yazmin Juárez are demanding $40 million from CoreCivic in the complaint filed in federal court in San Antonio. It's the third legal claim they have filed related to the death of Yazmin's daughter, Mariee, in May last year. The deaths of children detained by border agents have drawn national attention as have the conditions in border facilities where in some cases dozens of children have been held...
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I pursued a legal career because it was a way of getting involved in many different types of business. I knew that working as a lawyer would be challenging and offer plenty of variety. I enjoy facilitating transactions and helping navigate a way forward for my clients. Simmons & Simmons was a great firm in which to train. The learning curve was steep and we worked hard, but there was a wide range of opportunities. I spent my third seat on secondment to a client and my final six months working with the dispute resolution team in Hong Kong. It opened my eyes to the realities of being a City lawyer and what was expected in a traditional firm. I moved to Nabarro (now CMS) on qualification....
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This is an interesting turn of events. As first reported by Music Ally earlier this month, ByteDance-owned TikTok has asked the UK’s Copyright Tribunal to step in to resolve a licensing dispute with ICE – the joint venture between European collecting societies PRS for Music, STIM and GEMA. TikTok confirmed the move, stating that it has “been in active and extended negotiations with ICE” and that it has “asked the UK Copyright Tribunal as a neutral third party to help us reach a reasonable outcome”. An ICE spokesperson then responded, calling TikTok an “unlicensed” platform, while explaining that ICE was “disappointed [that] an agreement for [the]...
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ATLANTA – Georgia allowed its election system to grow “way too old and archaic” and now has a deep hole to dig out of to ensure that the constitutional right to vote is protected, according to U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg. Now Totenberg is in the difficult position of having to decide whether the state, which plans to implement a new voting system statewide next year, must immediately abandon its outdated voting machines in favor of an interim solution for special and municipal elections to be held this fall. Election integrity advocates and individual voters sued Georgia election officials in 2017 alleging that the touchscreen voting machines the state has used since 2002 are unsecure...
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Connecticut Law Tribune Home Follow Connecticut Law Tribune Connecticut Law Tribune Home Follow Connecticut Law Tribune More from ALM Premium Subscription With this subscription you will receive unlimited access to high quality, online, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry. This is perfect for attorneys licensed in multiple jurisdictions or for attorneys that have fulfilled their CLE requirement but need to access resourceful information for their practice areas. Team Accounts Our Team Account subscription service is for legal teams of four or more attorneys. Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well...
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Attorney Dennis C. Gaughan adopted an unusual courtroom practice when he advised his clients to apologize to police officers, recalled Hamburg Town Justice Carl W. Morgan. “The offense was usually not too egregious in misdemeanor court, but it made me chuckle,” Morgan said. “It wasn’t unusual for him to get choked up when he was advocating for a defendant. You could tell it affected him. He had a good heart.” Mr. Gaughan, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, died unexpectedly Thursday at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was 64. Mr. Gaughan, born in Hamburg, attended St. Francis High School in Athol Springs. He graduated from Syracuse University and New York Law...
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Two former attorneys for the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans have sued the LSU Board of Supervisors and a trio of high-ranking administrators over claims of gender discrimination. In a civil suit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, plaintiffs Katherine Muslow and Meredith Cunningham say that for years they were victims of inequitable pay policies that paid men tens of thousands of dollars a year more than women for the same type of work and experience. Armed with a 2017 market salary study, Muslow and Cunningham asked their superiors for merit-based raises, the suit says, but were instead fired in "purposeful and blatant retaliation." Muslow worked as general...
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