Wills & Probate

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Probate delays have decreased, with the average time for the application process reducing from 14 weeks last July to 9.3 weeks this July, according to HM Courts & Tribunals Service figures published this month

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is consulting on changing the Legal Ombudsman levy on firms so firms that generate complaints pay 50% of the cost, rather than the current 30%

The wills of nine royals have been made publicly accessible

Mark Pawlowski explores some unusual aspects of the perpetuity rule

David Burrows reflects on the tangled legacies we leave behind

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published draft guidance to protect consumers against risks posed by unregulated will writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate services

The Justice Committee heard oral evidence this week, for its ongoing inquiry into probate, from the Law Society, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and Council of Licensed Conveyancers

Law firm Irwin Mitchell and probate researchers Finders International, the firm founded by celebrity heir hunter Danny Curran (pictured right), both triumphed at this year’s ‘Probies’ (Probate Industry Awards)

Probate delays cost money, cause distress & have collapsed house sales. Helen Stewart makes some suggestions

While we await the Supreme Court judgment in Hirachand v Hirachand, Andrew Wilkinson analyses the case and its implications on inheritance—for lawyers, families and the third sector

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS

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NLJ this week: The insider returns

Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome

NLJ this week: Drawing the line on contempt

After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights

NLJ this week: Stop and search by the numbers

The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains

NLJ this week: Looking back on the prorogation that never was

Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously

NLJ this week: How not to plead a schedule of loss

A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever

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Wills & Probate

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

HFW—Guy Marrison