THIS ISSUE
Writing in NLJ’s Civil Way this week, columnist DDJ Stephen Gold asks, ‘have you ever tried savaging a peanut?’
As firms scramble for position post‑lockdown, effective marketing is crucial. Grania Langdon‑Down speaks to the experts
The Family Online Mediation and Arbitration Service (FOMAS)
Quarantine quarrels? This mediation tool may help solve the puzzle, says Jennifer Egsgard
Go low with the CFO; Possessions reparalysed; High Street lessee win; Family cases to surge.
Flexible tenancy shock; Big financial remedy changes
The plans for reform to injury litigation are a disaster in the making & will only make matters worse, says Dominic Regan
The investigation of many individual COVID-19 deaths is likely to give rise to significant controversy, says David Regan
Family lawyers were keeping a watchful eye on events in Westminster this week as the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill reached its final stages
CBA chair reports on ‘cracked trials’
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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