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30 January 2020 / Grania Langdon-Down
Issue: 7872 / Categories: Features , Brexit , Profession
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Litigation futures: strong & stable despite the Brexit effect

While Brexit has created unhelpful uncertainty for litigators & their clients, statistics suggest that international cases in London are on the rise & that the capital remains a primary global legal centre. But what about the future & wellbeing of the next generation of litigators & what should law firms be doing to ensure their teams are both diverse & inclusive? Grania Langdon-Down reports

 

For litigators, 2020 is going to be a year where their focus is both on external issues, including any fallout from Brexit and procedural changes, and internally on how best to ensure teams are not just diverse and inclusive but properly supported amid increasing concern about mental health and wellbeing.

For the first time, the NLJ’s annual online survey of litigators, conducted with the support of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), asked whether the legal community needs to do more to promote diversity and inclusion and what areas could be improved. Eight out of ten of the 120-plus respondents said

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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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