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01 August 2025
Issue: 8127 / Categories: Legal News , Company , Technology , Artificial intelligence , Governance , Risk management
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NLJ this week: Corporate law in the digital fast lane

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From virtual AGMs and e-signatures to AI-assisted governance, technology is streamlining business processes but also raising complex legal questions. Writing in NLJ this week, Piers Larbey and Izabella Brooks of Hunters Law LLP explore how digital transformation is reshaping corporate operations—and the legal frameworks that govern them

While legislation like the Companies Act 2006 and Electronic Communications Act 2000 supports many digital practices, gaps remain—particularly around AI use and directors’ duties. The authors warn that reliance on AI for decision-making may conflict with directors’ statutory obligations to exercise independent judgment and diligence.

They also highlight the evolving legal landscape, including reforms like the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. As digital tools proliferate, companies must ensure their governance frameworks keep pace.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

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
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
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’ 
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