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10 September 2025
Issue: 8130 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , In Court
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Faster justice

County court cases are speeding up, with the median time from claim to hearing 62 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims—5.4 weeks faster than last year

Small claims times fell 2.4 weeks to 40.6 weeks from claim to hearing. The courts also heard more cases—a 23% rise to 512,000 claims in the same period, April to June 2025.

The figures, revealed last week in the latest ‘Civil justice statistics quarterly’, appear to show problems easing at the beleaguered court, described in July by the Justice Committee as ‘dysfunctional’.

However, Damian Bradley, partner at Express Solicitors, said research undertaken with the Association of Consumer Support Organisations shows claims times are ‘a postcode lottery’, ranging from 82 days in St Helens to more than 800 days in Canterbury and Medway, and 1,004 days in Hastings.

Issue: 8130 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , In Court
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harper James—Lottie Hugo

Harper James—Lottie Hugo

Commercial law firm announces appointment of corporate partner

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

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
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
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’
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