THIS ISSUE
The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is due to be implemented this month. Writing in this week’s NLJ, Charles Maurice, partner, and Brigitte Simpson, associate, Stevens & Bolton, look at the implications for the financial services sector.
Family law moved fast last year, with a renewed focus on non-court dispute resolution, more transparency and new protections for domestic abuse victims. And there’s more to come in 2025, as Ruth Omoregie, associate solicitor, and Lola Ajayi, solicitor at Anthony Gold, write in this week’s NLJ.
Should third-party funding be regulated? If so, how and by whom? This is just one of many thorny questions likely to occupy the minds of litigation lawyers in the year ahead, David Greene, NLJ consultant editor and senior partner at Edwin Coe, writes in this week’s issue.
Could law enforcement agencies tasked with recovering stolen cryptoassets have a silver bullet in their arsenal? In this week’s NLJ, Ashley Fairbrother, partner, and Joe Nahal-Macdonald, senior associate, at Edmonds Marshall McMahon, and Sarah Wood, barrister at 5 St Andrews Hill, examine the new powers provided by Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, courtesy of legislation implemented in 2024.
David Greene anticipates attempts to make the litigation process more efficient and less costly…and make or break for litigation funding
Ruth Omoregie & Lola Ajayi round up the key developments in family law in 2024, & consider what may lie in store for the year ahead
Charles Maurice & Brigitte Simpson explore the UK impact of DORA—the incoming EU Digital Operational Resilience Act—in the financial services sector
A ‘timid pipsqueak’ of a Bill, or the first step towards greater reform? Neil Parpworth charts the journey of the Hereditary Peers Bill through the House of Commons
Injunctive relief is possible before a wrong has even taken place: Nicholas Dobson explores quia timet relief in light of a recent decision
Could a bold interpretation of the new powers contained in Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 provide a silver bullet for law enforcement? Ashley Fairbrother, Joe Nahal-Macdonald & Sarah Wood set out the case
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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