View to the recording of our latest webinar, hosted by commercial law Partner Vaughan Jones.

Solicitors’ litigation costs have undergone seismic changes with effect from 1st  April 2013.  The reform is statutory (under the Legal Aid and Sentencing Punishment of Offenders Act 2012), in conjunction with statutory instruments and far reaching procedural rule changes, all directed towards implementing the recommendations of a major report produced by Lord Justice Jackson in January 2010.

In January 2013, the Department for Education issued revised Articles of Association for Academies.  The new Articles contain several variations to the previous Form of Articles which are of significant interest both to new Academies and to existing Academies.

In Hill v Governing Body of Great Tey Primary School, the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered the relationship between an employee’s right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights against an employer’s restriction on disclosure of confidential information.

Employment Law Solicitor Hazel Phillips from Burnetts in Carlisle, West Cumbria and Newcastle takes a monthly look at some of the employment law cases hitting the headlines......

A recent Court of Appeal decision highlights the need for employers to take care when drafting employment contracts and compromise agreements to make sure that they aren’t “caught out” by misdeeds discovered after the employee has left.  

On 1st September 2012 new legislation comes into force which will impact on how schools, including academies, can tackle the difficult issue of student exclusion. In theory the changes will give heads and governing bodies more control over their student body, allowing them the final say on who is permanently excluded.

However, with the introduction of a new financial ‘penalty’ system, it appears that navigating the way through the minefield of student discipline may be a more costly exercise than ever.

Over the last few years, as readers will be aware, there have been changes in the Further Education landscape which, with the entry into force of the Education Act 2011 have given Further Education Colleges the ability to take advantage of various new freedoms. 

This article features on the recent case of Seldon v Clarkson, Wright and Jakes in which it was decided that an employer set retirement age can be legitimate. 

 It appears that Cambridge University has reacted to the decision in Seldon and have become one of the first employers to set a default retirement age despite the dangers associated with indirect discrimination.

In May's E-Legal: Advice on mineral rights in "Your place or mine?", procurement advice for academies and public sector bodies plus details of our latest events.