header-logo header-logo

28 June 2018 / David Greene
Issue: 7799 / Categories: Opinion , Brexit
printer mail-detail

Brexit: more than Marmite

nlj_7799_greene

The uncertainty surrounding Brexit goes beyond ‘loving it or hating it’, says David Greene

It would be underplaying the divisions over Brexit to suggest it’s like Marmite: you love or hate it. Brexit gets passions flaming in a way that is relatively unique in the British polity, vide the thousands who turned out for an anti-Brexit demonstration last week. While there are many who still do not think Brexit will happen or that it will happen in name only (coined as ‘BRINO’), as lawyers we search out something concrete, some certainty. One could work on the basis that the government will deliver what it says it will deliver but that remains circumspect, particularly with ministers saying the country is prepared to crash out of the EU next March. Those preparations must be taking place under cover because most would say that the UK seems wholly unprepared for that event, although we are starting to see others, including European industry, making those preparations.

Planning for the worst

I was pleased to join Mary Arden

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Megan Bradbury

Clarke Willmott—Megan Bradbury

Corporate team welcomes paralegal in Southampton

Howard Kennedy—Paul Moran

Howard Kennedy—Paul Moran

London firm strengthens real estate team with partner appointment

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
back-to-top-scroll