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23 January 2026
Issue: 8146 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Civil way , Landlord&tenant , Family
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NLJ this week: Bundles, bots & bonkers rent

Civil justice lurches onward with characteristic eccentricity. In his latest Civil Way column, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist, surveys a procedural landscape featuring 19-page bundle rules, digital possession claims, and rent laws he labels ‘bonkers’

Family practitioners face new permission hurdles for appeals and must master e-bundles—five days early, Arial preferred.

Meanwhile, the Renters’ Rights Act gives tenants a tactical gift: challenge a rent rise and enjoy a ‘honeymoon’ delay while tribunals buckle under volume. Gold predicts an ‘avalanche’ of claims.

Elsewhere, the Online Procedure Rule Committee promises something ‘simpler and groovier’ than the CPR, while digital assets quietly become a new class of litigable property. Costs creep up, base rates fall, and access portals expand. Reform marches on—but not always in a straight line.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Ward Hadaway—Nicola Williams

Ward Hadaway—Nicola Williams

Specialist tax expertise expands with partner appointment

Howard Kennedy—Caroline Urban

Howard Kennedy—Caroline Urban

Firm strengthens corporate and capital raising specialism with partner hire

Payne Hicks Beach—Lucas Moore

Payne Hicks Beach—Lucas Moore

Commercial disputes partner succeeds Robert Brodrick as chair of management board

NEWS
Global mobility is transforming family law, creating new challenges around jurisdiction, assets and child arrangements
The civil justice landscape could be heading for a shake-up, with reform of the Solicitors Act 1974 gathering pace
Employers are being urged to prepare now for far-reaching employment law changes taking effect in January 2027
As family structures evolve, the law may face difficult questions about inheritance rights for those in polyamorous relationships
A series of procedural developments could have significant practical consequences for litigators. Writing in NLJ this week, columnist Stephen Gold highlights important updates ranging from digital court reforms to family procedure and admissions of liability
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