header-logo header-logo

02 September 2019
Issue: 7854 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Criminal , Technology
printer mail-detail

Future projects for law reform

The use of technology in business and the protection of victims of abusive online communications are the law reform priorities of the next appointees to the Law Commission.

Professor Penney Lewis of the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London will replace Professor David Ormerod QC as the Commissioner for Criminal Law. Professor Sarah Green of Bristol University will replace Stephen Lewis as the Commissioner for Commercial and Common Law.

Both women will begin their roles at the Commission in January 2020.

Professor Lewis said she was ‘particularly excited’ to begin work on improving protection for ‘the growing number of victims of hate crime, offensive and abusive communications and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images’. She will also lead on the confiscation of the proceeds of crime.

Professor Green highlighted the need for law reform to keep up with technological advances. ‘The work the Law Commission is undertaking on such matters as intermediated securities and smart contracts can help unlock obstacles to business, which will be especially important in the trading environments of the future,’ she said.

Sir Nicholas Green, Chair of the Law Commission, said: ‘The pool of candidates for the two positions was exceptionally strong.’

Issue: 7854 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Criminal , Technology
printer mail-details

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’

Gardner Leader—Michelle Morgan & Catherine Morris

Gardner Leader—Michelle Morgan & Catherine Morris

Regional law firm expands employment team with partner and senior associate hires

Freeths—Carly Harwood & Tom Newton

Freeths—Carly Harwood & Tom Newton

Nottinghamtrusts, estates and tax team welcomes two senior associates

NEWS
Children can claim for ‘lost years’ damages in personal injury cases, the Supreme Court has held in a landmark judgment
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’
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 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