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12 January 2018
Issue: 7776 / Categories: Case law , Law digest , In Court
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Weekly law digests

Adoption

Re L (Children) [2017] EWCA Civ 2173, [2018] All ER (D) 15 (Jan)

The mother’s appeal against the making of final care orders and subsequently placement orders in respect of her two children had no prospect of success and permission to appeal should, accordingly, be refused. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division held that the judge had been entitled to conclude, on the evidence, that there had been no change of circumstances for the purpose of s 47(5) of the Adoption and Children Act 2006

Criminal law

R (upon the prosecution of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Health and Safety) v Whirlpool UK Appliances Ltd [2017] EWCA Crim 2186, [2017] All ER (D) 124 (Dec)

A fine of £700,000 imposed upon the defendant company following a guilty plea to an offence contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 s 3(1) was deemed manifestly excessive, on appeal. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, applying the Definitive Guideline on Corporate Manslaughter, held that the appropriate fine in the circumstances should have been one

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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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