THIS ISSUE
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Expert witnesses are finding it difficult to get paid for their work, a Bond Solon survey has found
The Home Office is consulting on Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVRO), which aim to tackle knife crime and other violence
The fate of a single joint expert, an attempt to relieve the pressure on employment tribunals, and the secrecy of judgment debtors occupy the mind of DDJ Stephen Gold in his Civil Way column this week
Backlogs, logjams, paralysis…the criminal justice system is ‘in critical condition’, Mike McConville and Luke Marsh write in this week’s NLJ
Erin Brockovich, A Few Good Men and The Verdict are being used as an educational tool by law schools, writes Mark Pawlowski in this week’s NLJ
The Public Law Project (PLP) has highlighted serious flaws in the parliamentary process for delegated legislation in the run-up to Brexit
Forget Bradley Wiggins, the UK’s biggest legal cycle race will be hitting the road (physically or metaphorically) this week
Immigration and asylum lawyers targeted for daily online abuse
Calling up and coming lawyers―the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) executive committee needs you! Committee members represent their peers in national and international forums, making their views known on policies and issues
Obelisk Support has added 50 paralegals and junior lawyers to its existing pool of more than 2,000 senior-level lawyers, and plans to recruit 500 more
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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