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24 June 2016 / Dermot Feenan
Issue: 7704 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Emotions at work (Pt 2)

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In the second article in the series, Dermot Feenan explores the approach of the professions to emotion in practice

It is sometimes thought that emotion should have no role in legal practice. Yet, scholars on law and emotion increasingly identify the latter’s place and importance for lawyers.

Emotions are also implicated in health, a matter of growing concern among professional bodies. The concept of emotion regulation has been advanced as a valuable tool for legal professionals. However, there is a complex relation between attending to emotion and professional practice; which calls for clearer understanding of emotions, how they enhance practice, and the relationship with recent health and well-being engagement by the principal professional bodies, the Bar Council and Law Society.

Emotion & law

Emotion is traditionally thought to be inimical to law’s reason, objectivity and neutrality. In this traditional view, emotion should be expunged from professionalism. Yet, psychologists show how emotion can be integrally related to cognition. It can support ethical reasoning, such as caring towards others. Emotions necessarily enter into legal practice. There

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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
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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