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A further five Crown courts have been cleared for jury trials to resume, bringing the total number hearing jury trials to 62, out of a total of 77 courts open

They are: Leicester, Coventry, Derby, Bournemouth and Gloucester Crown Courts. Meanwhile, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has reiterated its opposition to extended operating hours. CBA chair Caroline Goodwin QC said this week, ‘we have all expressed our gravest concerns and doubts’. HMCTS is currently considering piloting a ‘blended model’ in Liverpool Crown Court from 17 August, where extended hours will operate but counsel can request a standard hours court.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Keystone Law—Milena Szuniewicz-Wenzel & Ian Hopkinson

International arbitration team strengthened by double partner hire

Coodes Solicitors—Pam Johns, Rachel Pearce & Bradley Kaine

Firm celebrates trio holding senior regional law society and junior lawyers division roles

Michelman Robinson—Sukhi Kaler

Partner joins commercial and business litigation team in London

NEWS

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Legal Action Group set out 2026 events calendar

The Legal Action Group (LAG)—the UK charity dedicated to advancing access to justice—has unveiled its calendar of training courses, seminars and conferences designed to support lawyers, advisers and other legal professionals in tackling key areas of public interest law

NLJ this week: When saying no to mediation pays

Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial

NLJ this week: Mandelson, Epstein & the court of popular opinion

As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’

NLJ this week: Volunteers, promotions & perilous appeals

Employment law is shifting at the margins. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ this week, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School examines a Court of Appeal ruling confirming that volunteers are not a special legal species and may qualify as ‘workers’

NLJ this week: How sure is ‘sure’ enough?

Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Keystone Law—Milena Szuniewicz-Wenzel & Ian Hopkinson

Coodes Solicitors—Pam Johns, Rachel Pearce & Bradley Kaine

Michelman Robinson—Sukhi Kaler