Legal News

Digital reform in the courts must prioritise inclusion over efficiency, write Professors Sue Prince (University of Exeter) and Liz Smart (Birmingham City University) in this week's NLJ. As HMCTS continues its £1.2bn modernisation programme, the authors warn that replacing paper with digital risks excluding vulnerable users unless reforms are user-centred

Writing in NLJ this week, Sean Hilton and Penny Marshall of Stevens & Bolton dissect the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Standish v Standish, which clarifies how non-matrimonial assets are treated in divorce. The ruling is a wake-up call for high-net-worth clients and their advisers: behaviour, not just structure, now defines asset protection

A leading probate researcher has urged the government to explore ‘safer’ ways to unite long-lost heirs with the estates they are due, following the discovery fraudsters have targeted the Bona Vacantia list

People bringing collective actions should always instruct costs specialists to help them scrutinise their lawyers’ fees, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has declared

Criminal barristers have firmly rebuffed Sir Brian Leveson’s proposals to restrict jury trials and move a tranche of cases to a judge sitting with two magistrates

MPs have launched an inquiry into access to justice, including the potential for an ‘access to justice fund levy’

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has proposed ‘unnecessary’ reforms to complaints-handling that would duplicate work already covered by the Legal Ombudsman, the Law Society has warned

In-house legal teams want more defined career pathways and professional support, according to a report by Flex Legal and Barbri

Texas-style courts offering tough justice are to be rolled out across England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice announced this week

Former chair of CILEX Professor Christopher Bones has been appointed chair of the Bar Standards Board, replacing Kathryn Stone