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

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson appoints Paula Myers to private capital team in Leeds

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

Law firm mfg Solicitors announces five promotions at Birmingham office

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners adds six to partnership in record year for partner promotions

NEWS
The legal profession's AI challenge extends far beyond fabricated case citations, according to a warning about the next phase of technological risk
Law firms should use the transition period before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumes anti-money laundering (AML) supervision to strengthen governance and compliance, experts have warned
Cross-border disputes increasingly demand creative approaches to gathering evidence, with litigators needing to look beyond traditional letters of request
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified the distinction between contracts of 'indefinite' and 'perpetual' duration, with potentially significant implications for commercial drafting
The Court of Appeal was entitled to uphold the government's decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, according to an analysis of the ruling
back-to-top-scroll