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11 October 2024
Issue: 8089 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal , Crypto , Cybercrime , Regulatory , Insolvency
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NLJ this week: Crypto seize & freeze, & the digital landscape

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NLJ serves up a double helping of crypto this week. First, Andrew Bird KC takes a detailed look at the powers to freeze and destroy digital assets. Next up, Iain Young covers the legal landscape of crypto in Scotland & England

Criminal gangs are exploiting crypto to hold and trade the proceeds of crime. Consequently, new powers were added to the crimefighter’s arsenal in April. Bird KC, of 5 St Andrew’s Hill, takes a detailed look at what’s available and how the powers can be used.

Bird writes: ‘The extension to the criminal powers brings cryptoassets squarely within the scope of restraint and enforcement powers.’

Meanwhile, Scotland has different laws on digital assets and therefore faces unique obstacles in this area, as Young, partner at Morton Fraser MacRoberts, explains.

Young covers key questions about the transfer of digital assets in Scotland and England, as well as their legal status, security interests, traceability, accessibility, title proof, and the implications of insolvency.

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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