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03 November 2021
Issue: 7955 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Wills & Probate
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The Probies

Lawyers are urged to polish up their entries for ‘The Probies’, ahead of the 26 November deadline

The Probate Research Awards, now in their fourth year, feature 14 categories from forensic genealogy (heir hunting) to will writing firm, unsung hero, best human interest story and young wills and probate professional.

Criminal barrister and television presenter Rob Rinder will present the 2022 awards at a ceremony next April. Rinder retraced the story of his Holocaust survivor grandfather and other family for an episode of ‘Who do you think you are?’ and a two-part documentary.

Geoffrey Odds, company secretary of the International Association of Professional Probate Researchers and Genealogists, said: ‘Over the course of the pandemic to date, probate research has played an extraordinarily important role in supporting councils and the legal profession as a whole.’

See www.probateresearchawards.org.

Issue: 7955 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Wills & Probate
printer mail-details

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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