THIS ISSUE
Dominic Regan trumpets the runners and riders for judicial office and literary prizes...and anticipates the start date for fixed costs
Greenwashing is all the rage, it seems, with companies keen to maximise marketing of their environmentally conscious products and some taking it too far. It can be a dangerous game, if caught out, as Charles Russell Speechlys partner Caroline Greenwell and trainee Peter Carlyon explain in this week’s NLJ
Get your skates on if you want to save on fees, is former District Judge Stephen Gold’s message this week, in his Civil Way column. The threatened court fee hike is on its way and could be with us at the end of this month
Which judges are on the move and who’s going where?
Can you trust a solicitor to keep his promise? This is not the start of a dodgy anti-lawyer joke or complaint, but a serious report on a wake-up call sounded by the Supreme Court in a recent case
The Communications and Digital Committee has launched an inquiry into digital regulation
A planning and public law mentoring scheme has been launched for people from underrepresented groups interested in becoming barristers
Suella Braverman QC has returned to the position of Attorney General following her maternity leave
The cases backlog stands at 367,294 magistrates’ court cases and 58,188 Crown Court cases in July, according to the latest HM Courts and Tribunal Service statistics
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill risks undermining access to justice, the Law Society has warned
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
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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