THIS ISSUE
Making history: Ian Smith performs a perfect loop-the-loop & serves up three significant Court of Appeal decisions
A cruel joke followed by a slap grabbed the headlines and inspired heated debate at this year’s Oscars. Some even speculated it was staged
Family lawyers have hailed the new era of fault-free divorce, which takes effect this week after decades of campaigning
In the second part of a feature on the new fault-free divorce laws, NLJ columnist and solicitor-advocate David Burrows asks: is there a right to challenge an assertion of irretrievable breakdown?
Law firm welcomes banking and finance partner
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is to revise the statutory consultation part of the recruitment process from September, sometimes referred to as ‘secret soundings’
Insurer AXA has declined to appeal the Wolseley COVID-19 business interruption judgment test case, Corbin & King Ltd and others v AXA Insurance UK plc [2022] EWHC 409 (Comm), giving the hospitality sector hope of recovering their losses
Any child who witnesses domestic abuse will also be treated as a victim, under revised Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance published for consultation this week
A legal Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine has been formed, with all member law firms and lawyers acting pro bono
Tini Owens, whose high-profile divorce went all the way to the Supreme Court, has welcomed the new ‘no-fault’ process
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Hugh James—Phil Edwards
Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire
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Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe
Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire
DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr
Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London
NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured £1.1m in its first use of an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO)
County court cases are speeding up, with the median time from claim to hearing 62 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims—5.4 weeks faster than last year
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