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25 October 2024
Issue: 8091 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Career focus , Training & education , Education , Equality
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NLJ this week: The star attraction of trainee initiative Project Rise

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Launched in 2021, Project Rise is now in full swing at several firms and in-house departments, offering talented aspiring solicitors the opportunity to train part-time

In this week’s NLJ, Lizzie Hardy, associate, Eversheds Sutherland, highlights the value of this project. Initially designed by the Law Society’s Disabled Solicitors Network, the project also appeals to trainees who wish to work part-time for other reasons, such as caring responsibilities.

Firms and in-house teams commit to offering part-time training, but how they put that into practice is entirely flexible. Hardy says: ‘The firms who have signed up to the project report back on progress and success stories. One firm recently reported that 20% of training contract applicants stated they were interested in part-time training.’

Hardy writes that she is proud to work for a firm involved in Project Rise, and invites others to get in touch should they wish to find out more.

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
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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