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12 September 2013 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7575 / Categories: Features
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A traveller's tale...or two

Dominic Regan reflects on life's quirks in & out of the court room

“ Why, after a 3,000 mile journey unaided does a hotel porter try to wrestle my suitcase off me to convey it the last 100 metres to my room? I might object less if he had to carry it rather than push it on dinky wheels that roll smoothly. Beware the Millennium Hotel at the United Nations in New York. Oh brother, do they have this down to a fine art. Team 1 gets the bags out of the taxi (hands outstretched for green paper). Seamlessly team 2 takes over as an Olympiad passing a baton and gets the luggage into reception (repeating outstretched movement) whereupon team 3 gets the goods to the room. Final round of tipping ensues. On no account relinquish hold!”

“ Where a trial judge is reversed upon appeal it is the original victor who pays the costs. This only adds to the grave sense of disappointment engendered by winning and then finding, through no fault of your

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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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