Ian Smith
Barrister & professor
Ian Smith, barrister, emeritus professor of employment law at the Norwich Law School, UEA & general editor of Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law. Newlawjournal.co.uk
Barrister & professor
Ian Smith, barrister, emeritus professor of employment law at the Norwich Law School, UEA & general editor of Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law. Newlawjournal.co.uk
Making history: Ian Smith performs a perfect loop-the-loop & serves up three significant Court of Appeal decisions
Remembrance of things past: Ian Smith reflects on echoes from the past & unravels some current employment conundrums
Ian Smith draws inner strength from a great statesman & tackles the impenetrable conundrum that is unjust enrichment & quantum meruit
To kick off the new year, Ian Smith serves up a selection of delights including the role of fairness, the impact of the ACAS uplift & the relevance of gross misconduct in unfair dismissal claims
Get me out of here! In his end of year address, Ian Smith navigates a series of obstacles & challenges including notification, blacklisting, reconsideration, anonymisation & postponements
Ian Smith leaves no stone unturned as he tackles rudeness, gross insubordination, stigmatisation, honour, reputation, & protected disclosure
This month, Ian Smith focuses on part-time and zero hours conundrums, and shares a tale of compulsory retirement from the city of dreaming spires
Ian Smith serves up some employment classics & shares some wise lessons from the past
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Cripps—Radius Law
Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire
Switalskis—Grimsby
Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire
Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury
Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments
NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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