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08 May 2008 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7320 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Civil Way: 9 May 2008

Bloody Laws >> Bank charges here to stay >> Friendship the Mckenzie way >> Commercial debt interest ruling >> sex discriminators hit for six

LAWBITES
Blood money

A scientific test to establish parentage under a Family Law Reform Act 1969, s 20 direction has to be carried out by an accredited body. In other situations, an unaccredited body can do the job, but do steer clear of Jekyll, Hyde & Co or the court may be unimpressed.
Complement Genomics Ltd of Sunderland trading as Dadcheck (really) has just been added to the accredited list. And to celebrate the occasion, in came the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/972) on 25 April 2008. They hike the accredited tester’s fee from £27.50 to £37.90 per sample; scrap the dispensation for a subject under 12 months to have their photograph attached to the direction form relating to them before the sample is taken; and require each sample to be placed in not only a container that is suitable but waterproof to

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

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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