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11 February 2026
Issue: 8149 / Categories: Legal News , Regulatory , Legal services , Consumer
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Legal Services Board under the microscope

The ‘statutory remit’ of super-regulator the Legal Services Board (LSB) is to come under scrutiny in a government review

The review, launched by justice minister Sarah Sackman this week and due to report in the summer, will also consider the LSB’s ability to deliver its remit, its ‘strategic clarity’, governance and accountability arrangements. It will be led by Richard Lloyd, chair of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

Law Society chief executive officer Ian Jeffery said: ‘It is an opportunity to speak up for proportionate risk-based regulation that protects consumers and helps the legal sector grow.’

Last month, the LSB, which oversees legal regulators, criticised the response of regulators to Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB) as ‘varied in clarity and level of detail’. The case prompted confusion about the extent of litigation work that can be carried out by non-solicitors.

Sackman said: ‘We must ensure that the current regulatory oversight arrangements are effective and do not duplicate frontline regulators’ work and initiatives.’

Issue: 8149 / Categories: Legal News , Regulatory , Legal services , Consumer
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

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
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’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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