THIS ISSUE
Profession remains resilient in the face of COVID-19
Chief Master Marsh retired as Chief Master of the High Court, Chancery Division on 1 May after a distinguished career.
Lawyers with judicial aspirations should keep an eye out for the 2021/22 High Court Judicial Assistant Scheme.
Numerical nightmares & conjured-up counterclaims: Dominic Regan counts the costs of some headline headaches
Have expenses under a freezing injunction become a further means to dissipate? Natalie Todd & Richard Swan investigate
Part 36 settlement offers: Helen Armstrong & William Rowell outline how to avoid the pitfalls
Michael Zander concludes his account of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
Alexandra Felix QC & Ruth Broadbent examine the complexities of modern slavery within the UK’s criminal justice system
Amid the proliferation of COVID-related powers around the country, what of the long-standing common law right to silence? Nicholas Dobson reports
In this month’s brief, Ian Smith serves up some insight into items which are always on the employment law menu
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
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
