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15 December 2011 / Jennifer James
Issue: 7494 / Categories: Blogs
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Noble (Fir) pursuits

Jennifer James presents the Ghost of Christmas Trees Past

The Insider has been decking the halls with boughs of holly, well, with a two-for-a-pound plastic holly substitute from Poundland, purchased last year and gathering dust for 11 months. While some branches of the law are thriving in the economic downturn—I would assume now is a great time to be an insolvency practitioner—for the rest of us, as with the country as a whole, it has been a time to tighten one’s belt.

Now, when I talk like this my dear old mum tends to get a bit worried, thinking that I am down on my uppers, so I should clarify; this year, if it was a toss-up between expensive Christmas decorations and not having Belgian chocolates, or dusting off last year’s and getting tucked in, the latter was always going to win. While I will not claim to be laying in a side of Wagyu beef for the big day (I had high hopes when ASDA started selling it, but early reports are that it is

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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

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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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