In 2015 the country will be celebrating the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta, which is claimed to have been the cornerstone of democracy and the rule of law in England. There is an organising body for the celebrations, with The Queen as Patron, and all sorts of events planned.

One such will be a ‘Global Law Summit’ – a conference to “promote Britain’s legal system around the world”.

Announcing the summit, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The Global Law Summit 2015 will be a world-class conference showcasing the UK’s unrivalled legal expertise, based on a long history of freedom and justice.

“We will be working with legal professional bodies and business to champion one of the UK’s greatest exports, our legal system. The summit will also mark 800 years of the Magna Carta, a tradition that still provides the foundation for the best commercial and legal environment for business to flourish.”

So that’s it – the law is a commodity, to be traded and sold. That chimes in nicely with the cuts in legal aid and the biggest roll-back of access to justice in living memory.

• In this part of the North West the big story in the medical sphere is the continuing concern over the quality of health care at one of the major trusts – East Lancashire. The BBC has reported that about five ‘whistleblowers’ per week are raising concerns in the area.

One such instance prompted an unannounced inspection of the Royal Blackburn Infirmary that resulted in two formal warnings being issued to the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. Failings identified included inadequate record keeping, lack of respect for patients’ dignity and poor assessment of patients’ risk. The inspection also revealed the fact that some staff caring for children in A&E had not had safeguarding training.

The CQC’s regional director commented: “The Trust is currently in special measures following the recent Keogh Review and we continue to monitor it extremely carefully, working closely with the Trust Development Authority and other agencies, to ensure it makes all the improvements to its services that are required.”

In other words, it is yet another instance of the fallout from the Mid-Staffs scandal. There was a nationwide feeling of “there but for the grace of God” following the revelations there. Thing is, after the closure of the A&E departments at two other hospitals in the area, Blackburn is now the nearest one to me. Ooer!

• A university in Missouri is offering postgraduate courses in US law to students in this country via video. Apparently, it is in response to demand from practitioners already established in practice to add US qualifications without having to relocate. The innovation follows a massive investment in technology.

Speaking at the International Bar Association conference in Boston, associate dean Michael Koby said: “We found a large number of lawyers who had senior positions in their practice and didn’t want to leave their family but they wanted to understand the US system better.”

It may be the best way to learn the intricacies of the US system, but I bet it won’t be offering such lovely stories as the Tweet from a partner in a ‘Biglaw’ firm – reported in the online blog Above the Law – denying the existence of greenhouse gases and urging a private blogger about the US Supreme Court to "die".

Chris Stokes