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08 April 2020 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7882 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Covid-19 , Procedure & practice
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Civil way – Covid-19

Contact conundrums & insolvent administration

That virus

What’s going on For all court and tribunal developments, there’s an invaluable daily update from HMCTS from which you can link to judicial guidance at https://bit.ly/3aT246b. Richard Susskind has set up a remote hearing website at www.remotecourts.org.

Light Relief The Vice-President of the Court of Appeal’s Criminal Division (CACD) has provided guidance on hearings of the CACD during the period while there are variations in the way appeals and applications are conducted. The presiding judges of the individual constitutions will make decisions that are best suited for the circumstances but the default position when advocates are linking remotely is that they need not rise when the court assembles and, where linking remotely from home, chambers or an office, the backdrop should be neutral and appropriate, if this is possible (and no children making silly faces, please). And the Judicial College has suspended face to face training until the 30 June 2020.

Sign of the Time

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Investigations and corporate crime expert joins as partner

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Veteran funds specialist joins investment funds team

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Firm enhances competition practice with London partner hire

NEWS
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
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
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
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
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