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Weighed down

Increasingly complex regulation places a heavy burden on charities without achieving the objective of effectiveness, say Jonathan Brinsden and Nicola Evans

A fine line

The sentencing guidelines on corporate manslaughter have provided welcome clarity but still leave much to the courts' discretion and risk leading to piecemeal developments in the law, says Atiyah Malik

Beyond measure

Lawyers are very familiar with the doctrine of unintended consequences, whereby new policies and initiatives bounce back and bite the hand which feeds them. The unintended consequences can arise from the best of motives; drug testing in prison was introduced to combat serious over consumption of cannabis inside: the fact that Class A drugs stay in the body for a shorter time and thus became the custodial drug of choice was in no one's mind when the policy was instituted.

Update: property

Janet Armstrong-Fox reviews easements, contracts conditional on planning, the new Building Societies Association's Mortgage Instructions and the government's plans to extend the SDLT disclosure regime to some residential property transactions

West Midlands: cautious ambition

While West Midlands firms are wary of slow recovery from the downturn, by focusing on specialisation, hiring top legal talent and re-evaluating their structures, they are determined to survive in the new LSA market. Jean-Yves Gilg reports

Fate of 300 complaints staff hangs in the balance

The fate of over 300 staff at the Legal Complaints Service in Leamington Spa hangs in the balance this week as the High Court considers whether or not they are protected by TUPE.

Social working: portrait of a new intranet

The magic-circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer recently opted to transform its intranet in an attempt to increase collaboration across diverse teams using an Enterprise 2.0 social business tool.

Final bail date for assisted suicide doctor

A doctor involved in the suicide of a terminally-ill cancer sufferer has had his bail extended for the fifth time in a year, Solicitors Journal has learned.