Legal News

How exactly are the police using their stop and search powers? In this week’s NLJ, Neil Parpworth of Leicester de Montfort University crunches the numbers and drills into the detail to uncover a less-than-rosy picture.

Foreign judgments can serve as the basis for bankruptcy or winding-up petitions even if not formally recognised in the courts of England and Wales, two recent judgments confirm. However, the process is not automatic, as Lauren Pardoe, partner, and Camilla Pratt, senior associate, in Rosling King’s dispute resolution group, write in this week’s NLJ.

A rise in nuisance claims against water utilities and in silicosis claims are among the insurance predictions for 2025.

The Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood has raised the personal injury discount rate (PIDR)—used by the courts to calculate lump sum awards for long-term injuries—from -0.25% to 0.5%.

Few costs lawyers have seen any reduction in disputes between solicitors and their clients despite the ruling in Belsner, the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) annual members survey has found.

Competition law and litigation solicitor Lucy Rigby, a former partner at Hausfeld, has been appointed Solicitor General, replacing Sarah Sackman KC, who replaces Heidi Alexander as justice minister for the courts, legal aid and civil justice in a mini-shuffle announced this week.

Lawyers have hailed the first increase in civil legal aid in 30 years—an extra £20m for housing and immigration. The last funding rise was in 1996.

MPs have voted 330-275 to pass the Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill’s second reading, a private member’s bill brought by Kim Leadbeater MP

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.

Prisons are in crisis, so what’s the plan to fix them? In this week’s NLJ, Helen Scambler, associate at Mishcon de Reya, comments on the government’s actions to date to repair the issue, and makes some suggestions on what they could do next.