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20 January 2017 / Mark Solon
Issue: 7730 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness , Profession
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Cloud expertise

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Mark Solon explores life in the clouds & explains why experts should expect a revolution

In November 2015, the government announced an investment of £738m in the courts and tribunal services (in reality it is over £1bn), to modernise and improve the way they are run. Some of this funding, approximately 40%, will be raised through the sale of existing underutilised court or tribunal estate and the reinvestment of those funds. HMCTS began to invest the money only very recently, in April 2016, and will continue to do so until 2022.

Since that announcement, very considerable work has been undertaken by certain judges and HMCTS to plan co-ordinate and deliver the reform programme, some of which was outlined by Lord Justice Fulford, senior presiding judge for England and Wales, when he addressed last year’s Annual Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference.

“As with all great revolutions, you either adapt rapidly or fade away,” he said. “I am sorry to be uncompromising but we have simply got to change, and judges, lawyers, witnesses and all others who

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

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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