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28 March 2025
Issue: 8110 / Categories: Legal News , Charities , Family , Divorce , Pro Bono , Expert Witness
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NLJ this week: Friends in the Courtney library & making expert connections

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An innovative law library and a scheme to match pro bono lawyers with experts both feature in this week’s NLJ, in a charity and pro bono double-bill. First up, Team Courtney explain how Courtney Legal works and how it can benefit early-career lawyers as well as members of the public.

Courtney Legal is an online audio-visual service that makes legal information easy to understand for anyone who is contemplating or going through a divorce. It was launched in January at a panel event attended by Baroness Hale.  

The authors write: ‘If Courtney is to consumers the equivalent of having a lawyer best friend, it is to new practitioners the equivalent of an educative “watercooler” experience.’

Next, Emily Sherratt, project director at the National Pro Bono Centre, covers the benefits of the Pro Bono Expert Support Scheme. This scheme connects pro bono lawyers with a network of volunteer experts, for example, medical or engineering specialists. As Sherratt explains, the expert help given includes translation services, communications advice and investigative work.

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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