THIS ISSUE
Tesco has won an appeal against an earlier ruling preventing the supermarket chain from using ‘fire and rehire’ tactics
Criminal barristers went on strike for the full five days, as their escalating protest against low rates of pay for defence work entered its fourth week
One year on from the Supreme Court’s landmark ‘Uber’ decision, Charles Pigott examines its effect on employment law, in this week’s NLJ
The Law Commission has proposed reforms to give couples more choice about their wedding ceremonies by focusing regulatory restrictions on the officiant not the location
White former barristers occupy 95% of senior court judiciary roles (High Court and above), while progress has stalled for ethnic minority candidates and solicitors, the Judicial Diversity Forum has revealed in its statistics report for 2022
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) costs caps should increase, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) has recommended
Law firms and entrepreneurs have backed the launch of an online platform designed to facilitate group actions
How can drivers be deterred from the dangerous practice of driving while using their mobile phones?
Professor Dominic Regan provides an update on client contributions and warns of a cost management bombshell on the horizon, in this week’s NLJ
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
