Legal News

It’s a potentially billion-pound question: how should litigation funding be reformed? The Civil Justice Council (CJC) recently published its proposals, but will these come to pass? In this week’s NLJ, David Greene, NLJ consultant editor and senior partner at Edwin Coe, sets out the issues at play and suggests inspiration be sought from other jurisdictions such as the US, Hong Kong and Singapore

Daniel Khalife’s escape from HM Wandsworth strapped by a pair of trousers beneath the chassis of a delivery van grabbed public attention back in 2023. In this week’s NLJ, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges, Red Lion Chambers, examine how spies have previously been sentenced in the UK, the core principles involved, the increasingly close link between terrorism and espionage offences, and why they expect the number of prosecutions in this area to grow

The rules and regulations on debanking (where a bank terminates its relationship with a customer) are due to change next year. In this week’s NLJ, David Hamilton, partner at Howard Kennedy, sets out the likely changes and explores the implications for payment services firms

The number of law firm mergers has fallen 25% in the past year—possibly due to partners delaying retirement in the hope of a private equity buyout

Government plans to charge 20% VAT on private school fees are lawful, the High Court has held

A statutory inquiry into grooming gangs, strengthened rape laws, and mandatory reporting will be introduced, the home secretary Yvette Cooper has said

Credit hire organisations must pay defendants’ costs when claimants are unsuccessful, the Court of Appeal has held

Clients are paying more for legal services, but have more pricing transparency and a greater selection of remote options available

Lawyers recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list include Suffolk Law Centre founder Audrey Ludwig, and Reed Smith partner and former chair of the Black Solicitors’ Network Paulette Mastin

City law firms are rallying behind the One Billable Hour campaign, launched by social mobility champions Be the Ladder and law firm Moore Barlow