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02 September 2020
Issue: 7900 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Law digests: 4 September 2020

Adoption

R (on the application of Article 39) v Secretary of State for Education [2020] EWHC 2184 (Admin), [2020] All ER (D) 40 (Aug)

The claimant children’s rights charity unsuccessfully challenged the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) Amendment Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/445) which amended a series of regulatory protections in respect of children social care services. The Administrative Court held that given the circumstances, there had not been an error of law in the consultation process. Nor had the 2020 Regulations exercised the statutory power in a way that had failed to promote the policy and objects of the statutes in question.


Divorce

S v C [2020] EWHC 2127 (Fam), [2020] All ER (D) 43 (Aug)

In the course of proceedings concerning financial provision following the parties’ divorce, the court had to decide to what extent it should exercise its jurisdiction under s 23 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 so as to impose conditions on the release to the parties of a frozen fund of some £3.74m. The provenance

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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
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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