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06 October 2017 / Roderick Ramage
Issue: 7764 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Law in 101 words

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Snippets from The Reduced Law Dictionary, by Roderick Ramage

Agreement to agree

Lord Ackner in Walford v Miles (1992) said that the reason why an agreement to agree is unenforceable, is that it lacks the necessary certainty. In May v R (1934) an agreement to supply goods at ‘prices to be agreed from time to time’ was held not to be a contract, but it was different in Foley v Classic Coaches (1934), in which one party was to provide petrol at ‘prices to be agreed’. Petrol supply was part of a larger agreement, petrol had been supplied without difficultly for three years and the arbitration clause could cover any failure to agree.

London’s early fire regulations

On 24 July 1212, following a calamitous fire in the city, the mayor Henry fitz Ailwin made regulations, including a prohibition of thatched roofs and a requirement for walls and existing thatched roofs to be plastered, and power to pull down houses that were not rebuilt accordingly within eight days no matter to whom they belong without exception.

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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
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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
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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
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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’
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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
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