THIS ISSUE
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What is the meaning of ‘philosophical belief’ for the purposes of employment law?
Hodge, Jones & Allen (HJA) housing solicitor Bahareh Amani has been appointed as the firm’s diversity champion
There has been a significant increase in the use of stop and search in the past year, Neil Parpworth of Leicester De Montfort Law School writes in this week’s NLJ
NLJ columnist DDJ Stephen Gold turns detective this week to uncover the going rates for silks, ex-judges and solicitors in the flourishing market of family law arbitration
John Bowers reflects on Grainger plc v Nicholson—a case believed to be important about how to qualify ‘belief’
Mark Solon reports on the first university certified training course for experts giving evidence in Scottish courts
Rakesh Kapila explains why profit & cash flow forecasts are important in litigation assignments on which forensic accountants are involved
Neil Parpworth reports on the latest stop and search figures and calls for an intelligence led approach
Michael Zander believes that the Government will be forced to climb down on the Internal Market Bill
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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