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29 October 2021 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7954 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 29 October 2021

Possession reviews evicted; Security offer too insecure for CoA; Onerous term defeats £180K claim; Employment tribunal rules amended

END OF MONTH REPORT

District judges and their deputies recently compiled data for one month on how they were spending their judicial time and without even the enticement of free participation in a prize draw. The civil statistics are interesting. Trial durations are overestimated: on average, a three-hour trial for a 4hour 30 mins estimate. LiP hearings are shorter than represented hearings (someone at the MoJ will jump on that). Review hearings for possession cases have been a flop. Too few settlements and so the Master of the Rolls has decreed that such hearings and triage hearings in advance of the final shoot out should no longer be standard practice but local practice may dictate otherwise. There will be a CPR change.


COURT OF APPEAL GOES BANKRUPT

We have met the beanless defence to a bankruptcy petition. ‘No point in bankrupting me, I don’t have a bean.’ The defence in Hughes and another

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles
A legal challenge to police disclosure rules has failed, reinforcing a push for transparency in policing. In NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth examines a case where the Metropolitan Police required officers to declare membership of groups like the Freemasons
Bereavement leave is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation. Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves of York St John University explains how the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a day-one right to leave for a wider range of losses, alongside new provisions for pregnancy loss and bereaved partners
Courts are beginning to grapple with whether AI-generated material is legally privileged—and the answers are mixed. In this week's issue of NLJ, Stacie Bourton, Tom Whittaker & Beata Kolodziej of Burges Salmon examine US rulings showing how easily privilege can be lost
New guidance seeks to bring order to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Minesh Tanna and David Bridge of Simmons & Simmons set out a framework stressing ‘transparency’, ‘explainability’ and ‘reliability’
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