THIS ISSUE
Key legal principles and industry implications
Patricia Robertson QC, Ben Lynch QC and Dr Deborah Horowitz, Fountain Court Chambers
Jonathan Fisher QC reports on responding to new fraud risks in the COVID-19 era
A month on from WM Morrison Supermarkets v Various Claimants being published, Nicholas Dobson reflects on where things went awry on the long & winding road to the final appeal court
Sailesh Mehta & Mahesh Karu drill down on social media & serious crime
The use of social media, ‘drill music’ and the glamorisation of gang lifestyle continues to be a controversial issue among criminal practitioners
Laura Davidson discusses an urgent Court of Protection hearing held over Skype which demonstrates the powerful & competing rights & interests of care home residents lawfully deprived of their liberty during the coronavirus pandemic
Lawyers will have to get to grips with a range of risks, frauds, scams and compliance issues arising in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Peter Thompson QC questions the reasoning behind recent changes to the statement of truth
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Cripps—Radius Law
Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire
Switalskis—Grimsby
Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire
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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