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18 February 2026
Issue: 8150 / Categories: Legal News , Charities , Legal services , Legal aid focus
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Apply now for free advice grants

A groundbreaking £3.9m grants programme using unclaimed money from a UK class action opened for applications this week

The Access to Justice Foundation’s ‘Improving lives through advice 2026’ programme mainly uses unclaimed damages from Justin Gutmann’s opt-out collective action on boundary fares against Stagecoach South West Trains, which settled last year for £25m, of which Stagecoach had to pay £10m after only £216,000 was claimed. £3.8m was earmarked for charity, with the foundation the nominated recipient.

Free legal advice organisations in London and the Southeast, Scotland and Wales have until 16 March to apply. The grants start in June. See here for more information and to apply.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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