Expert Comments

Opinion

Right of direct action against insurers to become a reality… at last!

The Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 25 March 2010 yet is still not in force. Implementation of the Act has been delayed because of...

May 20, 2016

Isobel Lovett

Opinion

The future of housing – a battle of visions

As this piece is written it has been an exciting week in shaping the future of housing in the UK and in the capital. Many sources have noted that housing…

May 19, 2016

Blog

Undercover Policing Inquiry: Chairman’s Ruling on Restriction Order

The Chairman to the Undercover Policing Inquiry, Lord Justice Pitchford, has now published his decision on the issue of restriction orders, detailing the legal framework under which applications for such orders will…

May 13, 2016

Opinion

Pitching a solution?

With a lack of affordable housing and cuts to welfare benefits in recent years it is not surprising that the amount of people left sleeping on the street has increased...

May 13, 2016

Opinion

Break a leg!

Break a leg is an idiom used in theatre to wish a performer “good luck”. Reading more about this term, I found the term appears to have come from the…

May 12, 2016

Opinion

Home alone – PHSO report reveals failures in discharge and care for the elderly and vulnerable

Patients are being sent home alone, afraid and unable to cope and in some cases without their relatives or carers being told, resulting in devastating consequences, according to a report...

May 12, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

Action for Brain Injury Week 9-15th May 2016

Action for brain injury week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the devastating effects of brain injury and its consequence. The campaign is organised by Headway and is…

May 11, 2016

Leticia Williams

Opinion

(Access to) Justice Prevails

The Supreme Court has delivered a unanimous ruling finding against the Government’s plans to introduce a discriminatory residence test. The controversial proposal sought to withhold legal aid from anyone that...

May 10, 2016

Opinion

A glimmer of hope in legal aid developments?

On 18 February the ever resolute charity, Rights of Women successfully appealed against the decision that their application for a declaration that the Regulations relating to the eligibility for legal...

May 6, 2016

Opinion

Personal maternity budgets: Will giving women more choice really drive up care standards?

Recently the National Maternity Review was published with recommendations as to how maternity services should change over the next five years, with proposals designed to make care safer and give...

May 4, 2016

Blog

Deputies as Employers – No option to opt out

The new pension regulations came into force following the provisions of the Pension Act 2008 requiring all employers to put in place a workplace pension scheme which automatically enrols any...

April 29, 2016

Opinion

Equality Act – mere words or a force for change?

In the recent budget, the Chancellor sought to make significant and life-altering cuts to disability benefits. The target of these cuts was personal independence payments for people who need aids...

April 29, 2016

Opinion

Homelessness and the LGBT community

Last year it was reported that as much as 24% of homeless people were made up of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) youth. Recently I read an article…

April 27, 2016

Opinion

Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes – the new “miracle fibre”

During a recent flight, I was chatting to the passenger next to me about work. When I told her I handled cases for people who have developed mesothelioma due to...

April 27, 2016

Isobel Lovett

Opinion

Workers’ Memorial Day, 28.4.16: Remember the Dead, Fight Like Hell for the Living!

Our work as industrial disease lawyers makes us acutely aware of the consequences of employers’ disregard for the health and safety of their workers as we represent those who, through...

April 27, 2016

Isobel Lovett

Blog

End of life care

Recently (22 April 2016) published statistics from the Office for National Statistics show that there is still work to be done when it comes to end of life care, particularly...

April 26, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

“No one knew asbestos was dangerous…”

The 1931 Asbestos Industry Regulations were designed to protect the safety of workers in the Asbestos Industry and factories from the risks to health from working with asbestos.

April 26, 2016

Andrew James

Opinion

TTIP and the return of asbestos

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a series of trade negotiations that have been going on for three years in near complete secrecy between the EU and US.

April 22, 2016

Andrew James

Opinion

Robertson v Robertson [2016] – To be, or not to be, a matrimonial asset

In Robertson v Robertson [2016] Mr Justice Holman had to decide whether the husband’s shareholding in ASOS, which he owned two years prior to the parties meeting and beginning their...

April 22, 2016

Opinion

Asbestos in schools

The recent closure of a school in Blurton, Stoke on Trent because of the dangers of asbestos in the building highlights a problem that is likely to get worse.

April 21, 2016

Andrew James