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NLJ this week: Criticising the Attorney-General for ‘political sport’

28 February 2025
Issue: 8106 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal services , Rule of law
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Recent attacks by MPs on the Attorney General, Lord Hermer on the basis of clients he once represented are ‘uninformed’ and concerning, John Gould, senior partner at Russell-Cooke, writes in this week’s NLJ.

The AG was even accused by his own party’s Lord Glasman of being ‘an arrogant, progressive fool’. Gould writes: ‘The narrow answer to the idea of conflicts with the interest of past clients is that once they cease to act, the lawyer no longer has a duty to advance the interests of their former client.’

As he points out, ‘beating up lawyers as political sport should be avoided by anyone committed to the rule of law’. He discusses the criticism received and the wider context, including comparing Lord Hermer’s client list to that of one of his predecessor’s. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Myers & Co—Jen Goodwin

Myers & Co—Jen Goodwin

Head of corporate promoted to director

Boies Schiller Flexner—Lindsay Reimschussel

Boies Schiller Flexner—Lindsay Reimschussel

Firm strengthens international arbitration team with key London hire

Corker Binning—Priya Dave

Corker Binning—Priya Dave

FCA contentious financial regulation lawyer joins the team as of counsel

NEWS
Social media giants should face tortious liability for the psychological harms their platforms inflict, argues Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers in this week’s NLJ
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024—once heralded as a breakthrough—has instead plunged leaseholders into confusion, warns Shabnam Ali-Khan of Russell-Cooke in this week’s NLJ
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has now confirmed that offering a disabled employee a trial period in an alternative role can itself be a 'reasonable adjustment' under the Equality Act 2010: in this week's NLJ, Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve analyses the evolving case law
Caroline Shea KC and Richard Miller of Falcon Chambers examine the growing judicial focus on 'cynical breach' in restrictive covenant cases, in this week's issue of NLJ
Ian Gascoigne of LexisNexis dissects the uneasy balance between open justice and confidentiality in England’s civil courts, in this week's NLJ. From public hearings to super-injunctions, he identifies five tiers of privacy—from fully open proceedings to entirely secret ones—showing how a patchwork of exceptions has evolved without clear design
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