header-logo header-logo

08 May 2026
Issue: 8160 / Categories: Legal News , Civil way , Procedure & practice , Landlord&tenant , ADR , Personal injury
printer mail-detail

NLJ this week: Civil procedure gets a spring overhaul

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation

Writing in NLJ this week, Gold surveys the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, including new possession grounds for landlords wishing to sell properties or house family members, alongside transitional provisions for students and existing tenancies. He notes that contractual rent review clauses are effectively abolished and jokes that the legislation ‘bizarrely’ encourages tenants to challenge rent increases in tribunals.

Elsewhere, Gold highlights the arrival of mandatory accreditation for ADR providers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, complete with a hefty £6,151 application fee.

He also reviews the 18th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines, which increase personal injury compensation brackets and expand aggravating factors in abuse claims. In one eye-catching update, he notes a High Court award of £125,000 in a domestic abuse case that narrowly missed inclusion in the new edition.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Withers—Sophie Barrett-Brown

Withers—Sophie Barrett-Brown

Withers drives further growth in its UK immigration team with new partner Sophie Barrett-Brown

Venus Legal—Esther Amoako

Venus Legal—Esther Amoako

Venus Legal invests in next generation of legal talent as specialist litigation practice grows

Fisher Phillips—Catrina Smith

Fisher Phillips—Catrina Smith

Fisher Phillips continues momentum in London with arrival of Catrina Smith

NEWS
Restrictions on workplace non-disclosure agreements could make settlements slower, more complex and more expensive when reforms expected in 2027 take effect
Private prosecutors face closer scrutiny under Crown Prosecution Service guidance designed to strengthen accountability and consistency when intervention is requested
Foreign states cannot necessarily claim immunity for cyber operations launched abroad against computers in Britain, following a divided Supreme Court ruling
Defendants who make unsupported complaints about their lawyers risk losing legal aid while confiscation proceedings continue without representation
Lawyers advising Russian clients face different sanctions restrictions across the UK, EU and US, despite their shared objective of increasing pressure on Russia
back-to-top-scroll