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09 August 2018 / Julian Acratopulo
Issue: 7805 / Categories: Opinion , E-disclosure , Brexit
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Recognition of the need for change is the key first step to effecting change, says Julian Acratopulo

The much used observation that the only thing certain about Brexit is its uncertainty, remains as applicable today as it did 12 months ago. The government’s Brexit white paper has done little to allay concerns among legal practitioners about the post-Brexit landscape.

The white paper’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) approach to services leaves some, including the Bar Council, concerned that the UK will be forced to negotiate different bilateral agreements with the other 27 member states. The switch to a FTA could also mean that UK legal professionals lose their right to advise on both EU and UK law in the other member states and in the CJEU. Given that UK legal services sector exports are currently valued at almost £4bn per year, practitioners and the judiciary must continue to focus on ensuring the English courts will remain as attractive to international litigants as they did before Brexit.

One feature which has attracted international litigants for numerous

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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
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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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