header-logo header-logo

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

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

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Ken Fowlie, Stowe Family Law

NLJ Career Profile: Ken Fowlie, Stowe Family Law

Ken Fowlie, chairman of Stowe Family Law, reflects on more than 30 years in legal services after ‘falling into law’

Jackson Lees Group—Jannina Barker, Laura Beattie & Catherine McCrindle

Jackson Lees Group—Jannina Barker, Laura Beattie & Catherine McCrindle

Firm promotes senior associate and team leader as wills, trusts and probate team expands

Asserson—Michael Francos-Downs

Asserson—Michael Francos-Downs

Manchester real estate finance practice welcomes legal director

NEWS
Children can claim for ‘lost years’ damages in personal injury cases, the Supreme Court has held in a landmark judgment
Holiday lets may promise easy returns, but restrictive covenants can swiftly scupper plans. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Francis of Serle Court recounts how covenants limiting use to a ‘private dwelling house’ or ‘private residence’ have repeatedly defeated short-term letting schemes
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already embedded in the civil courts, but regulation lags behind practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ben Roe of Baker McKenzie charts a landscape where AI assists with transcription, case management and document handling, yet raises acute concerns over evidence, advocacy and even judgment-writing
The cab-rank rule remains a bulwark of the rule of law, yet lawyers are increasingly judged by their clients’ causes. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian McDougall, president of the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, warns that conflating representation with endorsement is a ‘clear and present danger’
The Supreme Court has drawn a firm line under branding creativity in regulated markets. In Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB, it ruled that Oatly’s ‘post-milk generation’ trade mark unlawfully deployed a protected dairy designation. In NLJ this week, Asima Rana of DWF explains that the court prioritised ‘regulatory clarity over creative branding choices’, holding that ‘designation’ extends beyond product names to marketing slogans
back-to-top-scroll