header-logo header-logo

22 April 2021
Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , In Court , Legal services
printer mail-detail

Busy times ahead for Liverpool’s Business and Property Courts

The Business and Property Courts in Liverpool are preparing for an increased caseload in the months to come, with their first full-time judge marking six months in the role.

Neil Cadwallader (pictured) was appointed in November 2020 as a Business and Property Court judge. He is authorised to hear High Court and county court cases, including chancery, circuit commercial and Technology and Construction Court matters. His appointment means that Liverpool is no longer dependent on other cities for the provision of specialist circuit judges to hear such cases.

HHJ Cadwallader commented: ‘It has been pleasing to see an increase in the number of chancery and circuit commercial cases issued in Liverpool. I hope this trend will continue, and that the opportunity for this jurisdiction to serve the Liverpool area in particular will increasingly be taken up.

‘Looking to the future, my hope is that the Business and Property Courts in Liverpool continue to develop at a much faster rate, with a wider variety and larger number of heavyweight cases being heard.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
back-to-top-scroll