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01 October 2025
Issue: 8133 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , International , Health & safety
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Bar chair highlights increasingly hostile environment for lawyers

Barristers have been targeted with death threats, rape threats, threats to their family members, physical surveillance and threats from politicians, chair of the Bar Barbara Mills KC has reported

Lawyers’ organisations from around the world gathered in London this week to discuss dangers facing the legal profession. The event, hosted by the Bar Council and Law Society to mark the beginning of the legal year, featured speeches from the presidents of the Istanbul and American Bar Associations, Law Society of Zimbabwe and the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific.

Mills said: ‘There are patterns of intimidation that show we are facing an increasing hostile environment for lawyers globally.

‘That's why we are now focused on the safety and protection of lawyers at this year's Bar leaders’ event. Bar and Law Society leaders are coming together to share experiences, to learn from each other and to offer support that is coordinated across jurisdictions.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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