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Civil way: 27 June 2025

CFO not so special; whiplash pain; abusive legal aid; NDA reform

LAW BITES

Have mercy They’ve done it again. The Court Funds Office’s (CFO’s) special account rate has predictably dropped in response to the last Bank of England’s base rate reduction, from 4.50% to 4.25% as from 30 May 2025. Revise interest calculations for personal injury specials accordingly. The NLJ scissors remain mislaid and so you might take a look at ‘Civil way’, NLJ, 17 January 2025, p15. Should CFO special account invested funds be transferred over to an outside investment by the litigation friend, subject to court agreement? It is unlikely that a fixed-term ISA would currently yield a better rate of return. A fixed-term non-ISA might do so.

Whiplash cash Over six months after the outcome of the Lord Chancellor’s statutory review of the whiplash reforms was announced (see ‘Civil way’, 174 NLJ 8098, p15), there is legislation which gives effect to her conclusions. To the chagrin of the personal injury claimant

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
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