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19 April 2024 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8067 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way , Fees , Employment
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Civil way: 19 April 2024

Litigators to move fast; Debt relief changes; CPR PD 165 is VATable; Getting in on the Act; Master stroke

MAY DAY, MAY DAY

The threatened 10% rise in civil, family, tribunal, probate and Court of Protection fees will become reality on 1 May 2024 by dint of SI 2024/476. Well-meaning consultation has taken place. No representations by district judges, who would no doubt say that fees are not something with which they should be dirtying their hands unless the frustrated accountants among them have become costs judges, but the deputy head of civil justice and the Master of the Rolls did put in their two pennies’ worth, along with, bless them, Divorce Online and the British Parking Association. Some 172 fees are hit. The threatened divorce application hike has escaped and, for the time being, 29 other fees which require further analysis of underlying cost.

WHAT A RELIEF!

The debt relief order is the amateur debtor’s form of bankruptcy and works in a similar way. It is available

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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