THIS ISSUE
How do you hold oil companies to account? In this week’s NLJ, Dr Angus Nurse sets out the legal routes for remedying corporate environmental harm
There’s pure Gold on show in this week’s Civil way, as former district judge turned NLJ columnist Stephen Gold unravels the latest legal knots
Contrary to ‘received wisdom for over 40 years’, limitation periods do apply to unfair prejudice petitions, the Court of Appeal has held in a landmark judgment
A self-flying aircraft is the subject of the latest Law Commission consultation
The Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) Bill has gained cross-party support at its second reading in parliament, the Ministry of Justice has said
A magistrate has been removed from the Gloucestershire bench for failing to disclose in his application form that he had been convicted of five offences
The Law Commission has launched a call for evidence on jurisdiction issues in relation to electronic trade documents and digital assets such as crypto-tokens
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is revising its timetable for the courts modernisation programme due to the pressures of the courts backlog
A record number of pupillages have been offered in the Bar Council’s recruitment site, the Pupillage Gateway
The Foreign Office has imposed a further 50 sanctions against individuals and businesses connected to Russian president Vladimir Putin or which act as sources of Russian revenue
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
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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