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25 November 2016
Issue: 7725 / Categories: Legal News
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New head of courts & tribunals

Susan Acland-Hood has been appointed chief executive of HM Courts & Tribunals Service, where she will lead a programme of reform.

Acland-Hood is currently director of enterprise and growth at HM Treasury, and is responsible for policies on productivity, growth, business, infrastructure, exports, competition and markets, and for energy and transport spending. Previously, she was director of education funding at the Department for Education, overseeing the reform of the capital programme, and she has also worked on home affairs and justice policy at No 10 and in the Home Office.

Kevin Sadler will be her deputy chief executive.

Acland-Hood said: “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a transformed justice system that is faster, better, and more accessible to all. I have already been impressed by the dedication and commitment of HMCTS’s excellent staff, and I look forward very much to working alongside them to add technology to our powerful and respected traditions, and give us the best justice system in the world.” 

 

Issue: 7725 / Categories: Legal News
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

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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