THIS ISSUE
After a quiet few weeks, Ian Smith breaks the silence & tackles a Polkey reduction & the meaning of ‘because of’...
Patrick Allen & Bahareh Amani highlight the importance of championing diversity & inclusion
Marian Bloodworth, ELA chair, outlines the current pressures on practitioners & calls for change
Family Arbs: the likely bill; Human Rights alive; Champers with water for tenants; Fit and proper on the pitch
The High Court has struck out a gigantic group action with more than 200,000 claimants against BHP Group over the 2015 Fundão dam catastrophe in Brazil, releasing iron ore mine tailings into the Doce River, which resulted in 19 deaths and destruction on a massive scale, including the obliteration of entire villages
A Joint Committee on Human Rights report, ‘Black people, racism and human rights’, published this week, has drawn stark conclusions on inequalities in healthcare, criminal justice, immigration and democracy
Global law firm DWF has launched a work placement programme for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals interested in pursuing a career in law
Tenants will be protected from eviction until 11 January 2021, at the earliest, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has said
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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