THIS ISSUE
A recent survey by the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) revealed some stark and quite shocking facts
Should mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) be compulsory?
Judges have been told not to work from home (or at least not to conduct hearings from home) unless there are exceptional and unavoidable circumstances at play, former District Judge Stephen Gold writes in this week’s Civil Way
‘Admitting expert evidence very late in the day is a fraught business,’ writes Dr Chris Pamplin, editor of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses, in this week’s NLJ. He looks at the case of Shetty v Pennine Acute Hospitals as a case in point. There, the witness statement was ten months late
Never underestimate the importance of properly instructing expert witnesses, writes Mark Solon, founder, Bond Solon, in this week’s NLJ. He recounts a cautionary tale of high fashion, demanding celebrities and an expert witness who, as the judge put it, ‘did not fare well in the witness box’
NatWest (National Westminster Bank Plc) has pled guilty to money-laundering breaches, in the first criminal prosecution under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007
Victims of trafficking should be granted leave to remain, the High Court has held in a landmark judgment
The 2022 LexisNexis Legal Awards are now open for entries, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor Hotel in March
A pioneering triage system for family law issues, developed using the artificial intelligence (AI) expertise of Brighton University and the practice knowledge of law firm Family Law Partners, has won a Business Impact award from Innovate UK
The President of the Family Division has vowed to reform the system for dealing with child arrangement cases within the next three years
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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