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19 July 2023
Issue: 8034 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal aid focus , Career focus
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LALY awards celebrate legal aid stars

Deighton Pierce Glynn has won Legal Aid Firm of the Year at this year’s Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards (LALYs) for its work supporting former Ministry of Defence interpreters in Afghanistan at risk from Taliban reprisals.

The civil rights firm brought several successful judicial reviews on behalf of Afghan nationals who worked with the British forces yet were refused entry to the UK despite living in fear of their life. Partner Daniel Carey, accepting the award, revealed two clients had been kidnapped and tortured by the Taliban before the firm was able to help.

More than 500 people attended the awards in London last week, organised by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group and compèred by broadcaster Symeon Brown.

The Outstanding Achievement award went to the family and legal team (Leigh Day and One Crown Office Row) of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life after viewing online material ‘romanticising self-harm’.

Other winners included Christian Weaver of Garden Court North (legal aid newcomer), Kathryn Cronin of Garden Court (barrister) and Alison Stanley of Bindmans (immigration).

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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