THIS ISSUE
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been given 12 months to improve its safeguarding of risk, intervention and client money, under binding directions issued in response to the Axiom Ince scandal
The regulators of both barristers and solicitors have launched consultations on the way lawyers handle complaints
A higher proportion of legal work will be done in-house in the next five years, more than half (54%) of UK in-house counsel and a third (35%) of lawyers in private practice believe
The Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), a key reference book for judges, has been updated with guidance on emotional support animals
Former criminal defence barrister, Solicitor General, MP and Victim’s Commissioner Dame Vera Baird KC has been appointed interim chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)
The way judges are selected will change in October, when the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) implements the Judicial Skills and Abilities Framework (JSAF)
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) online portal is still offline following the cyber-attack in April
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Cripps—Radius Law
Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire
Switalskis—Grimsby
Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire
Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury
Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments
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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