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24 July 2026
Issue: 8171 / Categories: Legal News , Technology , International , Jurisdiction , Family , Divorce
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NLJ this week: Email service pitfalls

Serving proceedings by email in international family disputes may appear straightforward, but it can create significant enforcement risks overseas

Writing in NLJ this week, Jennifer Brockington-Belli of Dawson Cornwell and Lucy Taylor of Coram Chambers examine the interaction between the Hague Service Convention, English procedural rules and Swiss law.

They warn that a method of service accepted by an English court may later fail in Switzerland if strict local requirements are not met.

Practitioners should treat service as a strategic issue, not a procedural formality, because it can affect jurisdiction, fairness and the enforceability of judgments years later.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys senior leadership appointments

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector

NEWS
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
Britain’s new acknowledgement that Israel’s occupation is unlawful, and accompanying settlement-goods ban and sanctions, is significant but overdue, argue Danny Friedman KC and Victor Kattan in NLJ this week
New planning fee rises, wider trade union access rights and a service-by-email trap feature in Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
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