Procedure & practice

About one third of respondents agree remote hearings are more efficient (31%) or provide the same opportunity for individuals to present their side of the story (35%), the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Problem and Resolution Survey 2023, published in December, has found.

As it’s Christmas, and in lieu of frankincense and myrrh, NLJ offers a bumper two pages of Gold this week. Festive Civil Way topics include the bailiff dress code, PP arrears, DAPOs and the personal injury discount rate. 

The vital question of when exactly security is deemed received—whether it is on payment or on receipt of cleared funds—is addressed in this week’s NLJ, by Avneet Baryan, senior associate at Mills & Reeve.

Gustavo Moser sheds light on the nuances of negotiating & enforcing force majeure clauses

Is it bye bye Right to Buy? In this week’s 'Civil Way', former district judge Stephen Gold looks at changes to the discounts for secure tenants.

How does legal privilege apply to the use of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) by lawyers? In this week’s NLJ, Olivia Dhein, knowledge lawyer at RPC, and Ben Roe, lead knowledge lawyer at Baker McKenzie, highlight some overlooked risks and consider various workplace scenarios.

Olivia Dhein & Ben Roe explain how lawyers should think about privilege when using gen AI tools

Financial remedy copy; Civil legal aid eligibility; Secret commission; Interim costs whopper; Right to Buy hit

Ambiguity over the governing law of arbitration agreements continues to spark debate. In July, meanwhile, the government reintroduced the Arbitration Bill, which would have altered the outcome in September of the Supreme Court case, UniCredit. In this week’s NLJ, Valya Georgieva, senior associate, Penningtons Manches Cooper, and Ravi Aswani, barrister, 36 Group, examine the court’s reasoning and consider how the outcome might have differed if the Arbitration Bill, currently before Parliament, had been in force.