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Dear Sir Keir…

26 July 2024 / Mary Young
Issue: 8081 / Categories: Opinion , Profession
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Mary Young sets out a lawyer’s wish list for the new prime minister & the Labour government

Overcrowded prisons and an underfunded criminal justice system are already demanding the attention of our new prime minister. However, given his pre-politics career, Sir Keir Starmer will understand better than most several other issues lawyers are currently grappling with which would benefit from government review. While these are unlikely to feature on the public’s priority list, they can only be resolved through government intervention. Here is one lawyer’s wish list for Sir Keir’s first year in office (assuming the first 100 days agenda is already full):

PACCAR & the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill

The Supreme Court decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) (Appellants) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others (Respondents) [2023] UKSC 28, [2023] 4 All ER 675 changed the litigation funding landscape in the UK. The decision held that litigation funding agreements which enabled funders to take a payment based on the amount of damages recovered fell within

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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