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News

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On 13 July 2018 the House of Commons Committee on Standards published a note by me, in my capacity as Counsel for Domestic Legislation, Office of Speaker’s Counsel, House of Commons, on the Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy Proposals, as an adjunct to the Committee's Second Report of Session 2017–19; the note deals, in particular, with an analysis of the rules of natural justice; you can read the note here.

On 16 March 2018 Thomson Reuters Practical Law published a video discussion between me and Joanna Morris entitled Brexit Update: Spring 2018, dealing with the current status of Brexit legislation including the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and its current status in the parliamentary timetable, particular issues to look out for in that Bill, the importance of secondary legislation coming out under that Bill, the eventual proposed Implementation Bill and the status of other Brexit legislation. You can see the video here or read the transcript here.

On 13 March 2018 I attended my first meeting as a member of the Thomson Reuters Thought Leadership Advisory Board on Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law.  We were planning the forthcoming conference on Tuesday 1 May 2018 which will focus on practical steps enabling women to successfully progress in law.  This is an enormously important and exciting project and I am delighted to be a part of it.

On 13 December 2017 the Expert Panel on  Assembly Electoral Reform published its report on the way forward for the National Assembly for Wales - A Parliament that Works for Wales.  I gave written evidence to the panel and am delighted that they agree, in particular, with my comments on the importance of building effective post-legislative scrutiny into the future model: the National Assembly is already a world-leader in the methodology of legislative scrutiny and more rigorous post-legislative scrutiny would be a further valuable enhancement.

On 7 December 2017 I spoke in the Israeli Knesset on the second day of a two-day conference on Time and the Law arranged jointly by the Radzyner Law School of IDC Herzliya, the University of Leiden and the Knesset Legal Department.  I spoke about the lifecyle of legislation.

On 13 November 2017 at the Annual General Meeting of the Statute Law Society held at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Russell Square, I was elected as a Member of the Council.  I am looking forward very much to working with colleagues on the Council to continue the important work of the Society.  After the AGM there was a public lecture, at which the Society heard a fascinating analysis of the concepts of legislative intent and purpose from Sir John Laws who retired recently from the Court of Appeal

On 25 October 2017 the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution published its 4th Report of Session 2017–19 (HL Paper 27) - The Legislative Process: Preparing Legislation for Parliament; I gave oral evidence to the inquiry, and the report quotes me about: unnecessary legislation; the involvement of stakeholders in legislative preparation; policy preparation; publication of legislation; incoherent legislation; the role of Parliamentary Counsel; and the role of Ministers.