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17 January 2025
Issue: 8100 / Categories: Legal News , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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NLJ this week: Gold on tribunal procedure changes, sanctions relief & other civil law nuggets

Lawyers may have heard of The 39 StepsOne Thousand and One Arabian NightsThe Magnificent Sevenand even One Hundred and One Dalmatians, but how about The Tale of 94 Dodgy Divorces? Former district judge Stephen Gold shares his thoughts on this sad story, albeit one with a happy-ish ending, in this week’s NLJ.

Gold also covers guideline hourly rates, a raft of changes to tribunal procedure including that criminal injuries compensation cases no longer need to be held in private, a slap on the wrist for London-based public lawyers, and a message from on high for judges dealing with relief from sanctions applications. For this, and much more, read Gold’s 'Civil Way' column this week.

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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