THIS ISSUE
Business as usual; New liability for employers; Latest FPR PD update; Bankruptcy annulment; Mission for no commission
Sailesh Mehta & Tom Davies put the Lucy Letby Inquiry under the spotlight
Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC looks back to the feud of Bacon & Coke
Imran Khodabocus calls for honour-based abuse to be given a legal definition
Tim Suter & Sophie Cartwright KC look at the measures available to support vulnerable witnesses
Laura Rees suggests it’s time Parliament reviewed the Solicitors Act 1974 to give consumers & solicitors better protection
The government has missed an opportunity to establish a legal definition of honour-based abuse, Imran Khodabocus, director, the Family Law Company, writes in this week’s NLJ. A recommendation that this be done was made by the Women and Equalities Committee but rejected by the government in September
Nicola Brant finds troublesome defects in the Act which was meant to improve building safety after Grenfell
How is the EU law thread in Agnew to be applied to the rest of the UK? Charles Pigott reports
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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