Child law

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Personal injury lawyers have accused the government of dismissing the impact of sexual abuse on survivors, after it decided not to implement key recommendations for change.

Local authorities are increasingly using ‘deprivation of liberty’ orders to house troubled children in unregistered accommodation often many miles from home, the Law Society has warned.

In an unusual case, a father recently called habeas corpus on behalf of his own children who had been placed in foster care. In this week’s NLJ, Nicholas Dobson covers The Father v Worcestershire County Council in which the Supreme Court discussed the application of the ancient writ in a very modern setting.

Is there any room for habeas corpus in the modern regime surrounding care orders? Only very exceptionally, the Supreme Court has ruled: Nicholas Dobson reports

The decision to remove the three-year primary limitation period for claims arising from child sexual abuse has been welcomed by abuse survivors, Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at Slater & Gordon, writes in this week’s NLJ.

Righting wrongs: Richard Scorer welcomes the removal of time limits on civil claims for child sexual abuse

Three family judges who made historic decisions concerning Sara Sharif have been named.

Three judges in historic care and private family law proceedings involving Sara Sharif could be named next week, after the Court of Appeal unanimously held the High Court did not have jurisdiction to prohibit the publication of their identities.

Family law moved fast last year, with a renewed focus on non-court dispute resolution, more transparency and new protections for domestic abuse victims. And there’s more to come in 2025, as Ruth Omoregie, associate solicitor, and Lola Ajayi, solicitor at Anthony Gold, write in this week’s NLJ.

Ruth Omoregie & Lola Ajayi round up the key developments in family law in 2024, & consider what may lie in store for the year ahead

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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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

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NLJ this week: Tightening the screws on JCT terminations

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

NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law

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

NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession

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

NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap

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’

NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads

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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Child law

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Switalskis—Grimsby

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury