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05 May 2023 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8023 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way , CPR , Divorce
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Civil way: 5 May 2023

Nuptial news; coining it in; in favour of juniors; out with the scissors.

NO MOOR

You will remember Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42. Held the Supreme Court’s majority: ‘The court should give effect to a nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement.’ And you may remember the Nuptial Agreements Bill recommended by the Law Commission nine years ago (according to Lord Bellamy in the House of Lords last week, the government would not be legislating in this area while the Commission was reviewing financial provision on divorce, but he hoped it would do so during the lifetime of Baroness Deech, if not his own).

Neither Radmacher nor the Bill had been heard of when the parties in M v A [2023] EWHC 613 (Fam), before Mr Justice Moor, entered into their pre-nuptial agreement (PNA). They each had legal advice, the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Sidley—James Inness

Sidley—James Inness

Partner joins capital markets team in London office

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Firm announces appointment of partner as UK general counsel

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Firm appoints first chief marketing officer to drive growth strategy

NEWS
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
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