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11 November 2020
Issue: 7910 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Profession
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Courts update

The Queen’s Bench Division has stated it will now only accept urgent interim applications if they are made electronically, due to restrictions in place on account of the COVID-19 pandemic
Legal professionals should continue to send applications via CE-File. Litigants in person are encouraged to use CE-File, but if this is not possible they can email their application to qbjudgeslistingoffice@justice.gov.uk, including receipt of payment or a fee remission certificate and an electronic bundle containing only documents necessary for the purpose of determining the application.

Over at the Royal Courts of Justice, the Fees Office has temporarily suspended counter service this week, but is accepting payment via phone, email, CE-File or by sending a cheque through the post. To apply for fee remissions, visit: bit.ly/3kehdTn.

Meanwhile, Doncaster Crown Court was due to resume jury trials this week, bringing to 79 the total number deemed safe for trials to be held.

Issue: 7910 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Profession
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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