THIS ISSUE
The family courts are increasingly ready to impose costs orders as a result of poor behaviour or misleading evidence, say Stowe Family Law senior associates Siobhan Vegh and Natalie Nero, and solicitor Rebecca Sutton. Writing in this week’s NLJ, Vegh, Nero and Sutton talk us through a recent example, the divorce and financial remedies case, NW v BH.
Lawyers may have heard of The 39 Steps, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, The Magnificent Seven, and even One Hundred and One Dalmatians, but how about The Tale of 94 Dodgy Divorces? Former district judge Stephen Gold shares his thoughts on this sad story, albeit one with a happy-ish ending, in this week’s NLJ.
What went on at the Supreme Court in 2024? In this week’s NLJ, Brice Dickson, Emeritus Professor of Law, Queen’s University Belfast, reviews the cases, volume of work and topics covered in the past year.
What extra steps should employers take when employees deal with third parties? In this week’s NLJ, Vanessa Kelly, principal associate at Eversheds Sutherland, dissects the new legal duty on employers to proactively protect employees from sexual harassment, including from third parties, which took effect in October 2024.
You may already have seen the adverts. As Professor Dominic Regan, AKA 'The insider', writes in this week’s NLJ, the decision in Johnson v Firstrand Bank ‘caused financial institutions to wobble amid talk of this opening the way to the next PPI claims bonanza’. However, stability may be about to be restored. Regan reports the Supreme Court has sprung into action.
Where would the legal profession be without the humble motorcar & the endless disputes it produces? Dominic Regan steers through credit hire confusion & secret commissions
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has prompted fierce debate on both sides, but is a Bill needed at all? Simon Parsons considers the existing law & guidance
Vanessa Kelly outlines the new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment & how this should impact their dealings with third parties
Family practitioners should be aware of the courts’ increasing readiness to impose costs orders as a result of poor behaviour or misleading evidence: Siobhan Vegh, Natalie Nero & Rebecca Sutton highlight a recent example
A new Product Liability Directive for Europe, the same old Consumer Protection Act for the UK: will UK claimants be left clinging to the wreckage? Sarah Moore & Katie Bohl analyse the growing rift
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Freeths—Ruth Clare
National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester
Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon
Partner appointed head of family team
mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison
Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return
NEWS
Conveyancing lawyers have enjoyed a rapid win after campaigning against UK Finance’s decision to charge for access to the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
The dangers of uncritical artificial intelligence (AI) use in legal practice are no longer hypothetical. In this week's NLJ, Dr Charanjit Singh of Holborn Chambers examines cases where lawyers relied on ‘hallucinated’ citations — entirely fictitious authorities generated by AI tools
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
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