header-logo header-logo

It’s the hope that kills you…

19 July 2024 / David Greene
Issue: 8080 / Categories: Opinion , Criminal , In Court , Profession , Legal aid focus
printer mail-detail
182217
Can the new government turn commitments to the justice process into serious change? David Greene digs deep

A new government, new people and new themes and priorities. We lose Alex Chalk KC as Lord Chancellor, Victoria Prentis KC (Attorney General (AG)) and the aptly named Robert Courts KC (Solicitor General (SG)), as does Parliament because they all lost their seats at the election. The Bar will, no doubt, welcome them back to practice. The new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, is also a barrister and has been shadow Lord Chancellor for a short time, so steps easily into the role.

The full ministerial team in the Ministry have also been appointed. They are career politicians save for the Prisons Minister who is James Timpson of Timpson shoe repair fame. We have a new AG in the form of Richard Hermer KC. A full-time practitioner at Matrix Chambers, until a few weeks ago, Richard is a well-known practitioner in human rights. He follows the

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Firm strengthens international funds capability with senior hire

Gilson Gray—Jeremy Davy

Gilson Gray—Jeremy Davy

Partner appointed as head of residential conveyancing for England

DR Solicitors—Paul Edels

DR Solicitors—Paul Edels

Specialist firm enhances corporate healthcare practice with partner appointment

NEWS
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
Writing in NLJ this week, James Harrison and Jenna Coad of Penningtons Manches Cooper chart the Privy Council’s demolition of the long-standing ‘shareholder rule’ in Jardine Strategic v Oasis Investments
Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School and the Frenkel Topping Group—AKA The insider—crowns Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP as his case of 2025 in his latest column for NLJ. The High Court’s decision—that non-authorised employees cannot conduct litigation, even under supervision—has sent shockwaves through the profession. Regan calls it the year’s defining moment for civil practitioners and reproduces a ‘cut-out-and-keep’ summary of key rulings from Mr Justice Sheldon
back-to-top-scroll