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15 September 2011 / Richard Pettet
Issue: 7481 / Categories: Features , Profession , Marketing
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The rules of engagement

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Richard Pettet urges lawyers to make the most of social networking opportunities

The revolutionary new way to access legal services!” screamed the cartoon woman fronting the QualitySolicitors/WHSmith advert, an advert not in The Lawyer but on the front page of the Sunday Times. This comes on the back of QualitySolicitors’ prime time ITV campaign with the same cartoon woman floating across England in a balloon, enfranchising well-established local law firms into the QualitySolicitors brand. Earlier this year we had the regional ITV and Sky1 campaigns from legal price comparison website Wigster—more cartoon-based frolics there, too—and Location, Location, Location’s Phil Spencer fronting InDeed’s conveyancing adverts on behalf of the people behind RightMove. Don’t be surprised if there’s a Christmas version with Phil selling us conveyancing gift sets.

All this loud legal marketing is a pre-emptive move by some astute people to get a head start on the Legal Services Act and the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs) next month. On a less garish note, we also have The Co-op and The AA offering

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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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
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NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
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’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
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
NLJ this week: Do Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor meet the misconduct bar?
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
NLJ this week: Supreme Court unlocks ‘lost years’ windfall for injured children
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
NLJ this week: Finality trumps freedom in arbitration showdown
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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