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St Philips Chambers is ‘undoubtedly the “go to” set for chancery and insolvency work’. John Randall QC is ‘enormously talented, hugely energetic, and has superb client skills’, and is the ‘best insolvency silk outside of London’. Jeremy Richmond’s ‘commercial litigation and insolvency experience is invaluable’, and he ‘fights with spirit’. Paul Burton is recommended for partnership and estate disputes, contentious trust and probate work: he ‘always provides commercially sensible advice’. Lance Ashworth QC is ‘exceptionally responsive, sharp as a pin, and a fearsome advocate’. Avtar Khangure QC is a ‘very polished and persuasive advocate’, and Mohammed Zaman QC is a ‘superb performer’. Chancery and commercial practitioner James Morgan is a ‘silk in the making’. Matthew Weaver, who has a ‘bright future ahead of him’, is rated for his insolvency work, and Aubrey Craig is a specialist IP practitioner. Other recommended practitioners include John Brennan, Edward Pepperall, Andrew Charman, Duncan Bagshaw, Sandra Bristoll and Stephen Eyre.

No5 Chambers’ Richard Jones QC is a general commercial litigator and is ‘thorough and down to earth’. The ‘charming’ David Taylor, who is recommended for property, landlord and tenant and contractual matters, is ‘blessed with clarity of thought and fine intellect’. David Mitchell has a ‘very keen legal mind’ and has a traditional chancery practice. The ‘pragmatic, robust and determined’ Nicola Preston handles wills, probate, tax planning matters and commercial litigation. Glenn Willetts is a ‘strong trial advocate’ and is a commercial practitioner. David Holloway, who is a ‘very good technical lawyer who is always available and highly responsive’, deals with international commercial dispute resolution in the energy, construction and shipping sectors. Newly made up silk Mark Anderson QC is recommended for complex commercial litigation and company-related disputes.

St Ive’s Chambers’ Tony Watkin’s ‘incredible legal ability coupled with exceptional preparation makes him the full package with the ability to provide unbelievably comprehensive advice and outstanding advocacy’.

At Ropewalk Chambers, Stephen Beresford, who provides ‘clear, crisp and insightful legal advice, which combines technical expertise with commercial awareness’, is a commercial practitioner and regularly sits as a mediator. Richard Hedley, whose ‘strengths are his level of expertise, speed of response, ease of contact and integrity’, is recommended for banking and professional negligence matters. Jonathan Owen is recommended for commercial and insurance litigation.

KCH Garden Square’s James Howlett has a wide-ranging chancery and commercial practice, and has ‘encyclopaedic knowledge of land law and related issues’.

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Legal Developments in the UK

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  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
    - 11KBW

  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
    - 11KBW

  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
    - 11KBW

  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
    - 11KBW

  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
    - 11KBW

  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
    - 11KBW

  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
    - 11KBW

  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
    - 11KBW

  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue:
    - Penningtons Solicitors LLP

  • Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

    A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.
    - Penningtons Solicitors LLP

Press Releases in the UK

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