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04 April 2019
Issue: 7835 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 5 April 2019

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Missing persons; letting agents targeted; more bingo & forfeiture traps 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

We found you the husband in Cowan v Cowan [2001] EWCA Civ 679 last time ('Civil way', NLJ 22 March 2019, p14), albeit that he had by then shuffled off this mortal coil. Alas, I fancy that Old Man Bundy is no more and the remains of the snail in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 cannot be located. The good news is that the husband in Charman v Charman (No 4) [2007] EWCA Civ 503 which he left with £83m in his pocket less legal fees—a post Miller case on the sharing principle in relation to non-matrimonial property—is alive and litigating and has been detected by the Civil Way radar.

We picked up John Charman in the first tier tax tribunal in Charman v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 765 (TC) where he was challenging tax assessments for circa £13m on the primary ground that at no material time was he resident in the UK. He was partially

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

NEWS
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NLJ this week: Tightening the screws on JCT terminations
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
NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law
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
NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession
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
NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
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’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
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
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