Legal News

A costs judge has reduced a bill claimed at nearly £260,000 to zero, in a ruling that highlights a gap in legal regulation.

Duty solicitors at police stations will receive an extra £18.5m from 6 December, while legal aid lawyers at youth courts will get a £5.1m boost for the most serious cases, the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood has confirmed.

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has set out detailed guidelines on evaluating and managing mental capacity—an area of procedure that was previously unclear.

A case management portal and two websites will be launched by the Supreme Court and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council next month, to streamline permission to appeal applications and make ‘interactions with the court as effortless as possible’.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) is consulting on draft guidance for regulators on their duty to ‘promote the prevention and detection of economic crime’. 

Figures published by the Ministry of Justice for the third quarter have revealed a sharp rise in renters at risk of homelessness.

The proposed Product Regulation and Metrology Bill aims to provide a ‘pragmatic response’ to safety risks and technological opportunities arising since the late 1980s, but what are its implications for businesses which use artificial intelligence (AI) and their insurers? In this week’s NLJ, John Doherty, partner and head of regulatory, Penningtons Manches Cooper, considers what shape the Bill might take.

Be on guard against ‘greenwashing’ as tough regulations are now in place. Moreover, the latest guidance available suggests a low threshold for culpability. In this week’s NLJ, Paige Coulter, associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan UK, with input from Julianne Hughes-Jennett, partner, sets out the risks involved and predicts a rise in litigation under the Companies Act 2006 and other legislation concerning allegations of greenwashing (publishing misleading information about the environmental or sustainability characteristics of a good, service or business).

For anyone interested in prison reform, John Cooper KC, of 25 Bedford Row, recommends a recently released film, Holloway, directed by Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson.

The terrifying world of deepfakes, ‘cheapfakes’, dating scams, phishing and other artificial intelligence (AI) connivance is the subject of a fascinating article by Dan Wyatt, partner, Chris Whitehouse, senior associate, and Olivia Dhein, knowledge lawyer, RPC (Reynolds Porter Chamberlain), in this week’s NLJ.