THIS ISSUE
Highs, lows, successes & appreciative clients—Richard Spector shares his personal experience of damages-based agreements
Ombudsman shows the way; free cut-out; Court of Appeal goes weedy; housing rent increase trap; new royal warrant plea.
Aggregation of evidence is for the jury, not the expert, as Chris Pamplin explains
Rakesh Kapila considers the common causes of dispute in ill-fated joint business ventures—and how a forensic accountant can help
Incriminating evidence & falsified notebooks? Dr Jon Robins recounts a deeply concerning jury verdict delivered at a time of heightened suspicion nationwide
A corporation tax hike from 19% to 25% for businesses making profits of more than £250,000, and changes to pensions, childcare and disability benefits were some of the headline figures of the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt’s Budget
Lawyers have lambasted both the government’s Illegal Migration Bill and the surrounding rhetoric about ‘lefty lawyers’.
Small and medium-sized law firms performed well during 2021-2022 despite challenging circumstances, according to the Law Society’s annual Financial Benchmarking Survey.
The G4S fraud trial collapse is the latest in a ‘catalogue of failings’ at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), lawyers have warned.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig
Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire
EIP—Rob Barker
IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner
Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler
Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist
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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