THIS ISSUE
Former CILEx President Stephen Gowland has become the first Chartered Legal Executive to be appointed to the Legal Services Board (LSB)
Judges are to be given a 2% pay rise, backdated to 1 April, the government has said
The announcement of ten temporary Blackstone courts (legal equivalent of Nightingale hospitals) ‘feels like the Emperor’s new clothes’, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) chair Caroline Goodwin QC has said
A parliamentary committee is investigating the lack of progress on resolving racial inequalities in the protection of human rights in the UK
Lawyers who enter into damages-based agreements (DBAs) can be paid in the event of early termination, the High Court has confirmed
The long-awaited ‘Russia report’ has called for new legislation to ‘tackle espionage, the illicit financial dealings of the Russian elite and the “enablers” who support this activity’
The Law Commission has proposed radical reforms to home ownership, making it simpler for leaseholders to extend their lease, buy the freehold and take over the management
Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who joined Isis in Syria in 2015 when she was 15 years old, will receive a fair trial only if she is allowed to return to the UK, the Court of Appeal has held
Ten temporary ‘Nightingale’ courts will be up and running in August to help clear the backlog of cases, the government has said
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Hugh James—Phil Edwards
Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire
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Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe
Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire
DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr
Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London
NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured £1.1m in its first use of an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO)
County court cases are speeding up, with the median time from claim to hearing 62 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims—5.4 weeks faster than last year
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