THIS ISSUE
Ian Gascoigne of LexisNexis dissects the uneasy balance between open justice and confidentiality in England’s civil courts, in this week's NLJ. From public hearings to super-injunctions, he identifies five tiers of privacy—from fully open proceedings to entirely secret ones—showing how a patchwork of exceptions has evolved without clear design
Could tortious liability be the only tool to make Big Tech pay for the psychological harms stemming from social media use? Harry Lambert issues a call to arms
Writing in NLJ this week, Nikki Edwards, president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and partner at Howard Kennedy LLP, welcomes a landmark transparency initiative
Developers beware: cynical breach cases are on the rise, write Caroline Shea KC & Richard Miller
Firm strengthens international arbitration team with key London hire
Asylum seekers would be allowed ‘a single appeal’ at a new, independent appeals body staffed by adjudicators, in a substantial reform package on asylum
Property lawyers have urged landlords to act quickly if they are considering regaining possession of their properties, ahead of major reforms to the private rental sector
Contempt of court laws would be split into four distinct categories, under Law Commission recommendations to make them fit for the digital age
Australia-headquartered mining giant BHP has been held strictly liable as ‘polluters’ for the Fundão dam disaster in Brazil, in one of the largest group actions ever brought in the English courts
CILEX has applied for permission to appeal Mazur, the decision that legal executives and paralegals cannot conduct litigation even when supervised by a solicitor
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 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
A Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruling has reopened debate on the availability of ‘user damages’ in competition claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Edward Nyman of Hausfeld explains how the CAT allowed Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen’s alternative damages case against Meta to proceed, rejecting arguments that such damages are barred in competition law
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