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11 November 2020 / Marian Bloodworth
Issue: 7910 / Categories: Opinion , Employment , Covid-19 , Profession
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Navigating challenging times

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Marian Bloodworth, ELA chair, outlines the current pressures on practitioners & calls for change

As I prepared to take over as chair of the national Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) a few months ago, a number of people asked me what I would like to achieve in the course of the next two years. 

Given that we were in the middle of a pandemic, simply ensuring the organisation makes it through the next two years, keeping the interests of our 6,000 members at front of mind, as we navigate COVID-19, Brexit and the concerning challenges to the rule of law among other things, will be an achievement in itself. 

However, there is more that I would like to do while in post in terms of supporting our members. It has long struck me, and indeed it is generally well recognised, that the legal profession is not as good as it could be in looking after its own. While we may advise others as to their rights, legal remedies and the protections to

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A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
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The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’
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The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

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Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
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As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
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