Roger Smith
NLJ columnist
Roger Smith, NLJ columnist & former director of JUSTICE. Newlawjournal.co.uk
No matter the advances of legal tech in widening access to justice, there will always be a place for human advisers, as Roger Smith explains
Roger Smith sets out a vision for a national legal aid service—& how we might go about funding it
We should seize the opportunities presented by new models of artificial intelligence to improve the provision of legal advice, says Roger Smith
Pillars of integrity? Roger Smith stresses the importance of character, intellect & a commitment to the rule of law in those serving as Lord Chancellor & Law Officers
Far from a bold initiative, the announcement of a distant & unfunded review of civil legal aid is an abdication of government responsibility, says Roger Smith
The Ministry of Justice’s ‘one-stop shop’ for data is a promising start, but nowhere near a finished result, says Roger Smith
It’s time to acknowledge that law, justice & the courts are being commoditised, says Roger Smith
Something has to be done to address the over-politicisation of the government’s legal advice, says Roger Smith
MOVERS & SHAKERS
NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson
Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating
Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie
Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law
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Birketts—Álvaro Aznar
Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team
NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
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