THIS ISSUE
Employment law change was a key plank of prime minister Keir Starmer’s first king’s speech
The Finch ruling on ‘downstream’ emissions in environmental impact assessments is a seminal judgment by the Supreme Court
Group litigation, also known as class actions, is on the rise
Child relocation cases ‘remain difficult and finely balanced’, Victoria Rylatt and Sarah Hughes, Anthony Gold Solicitors, write in this week’s NLJ
What do lawyers hope for as the Keir Starmer government gets to work? In this week’s NLJ, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC calls for more access to justice while Mary Young sets out a wish list from the legal profession
Judges are urged to keep it brief, former district judge Stephen Gold writes in this week’s Civil way
Lawyers and campaign groups have welcomed the inclusion of a ‘Hillsborough Law’ in the King’s Speech, and urged the government to set up an oversight body to ensure the recommendations of inquests and public inquiries are put into action
The criminal justice system must have a ‘culture’ where ‘it is acknowledged that mistakes can be made’, Chris Henley KC has said, in his independent review of the Andrew Malkinson case
The Law Society has urged the new government to update the means test in line with inflation, bringing 5.5 million more people in scope
From planning to arbitration, lawyers welcomed a bumper package of 40 bills in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech
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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