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09 January 2026
Issue: 8144 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal services , Costs , Damages
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NLJ this week: The insider returns

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Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome

Meanwhile, a long-awaited decision on ‘lost years’ damages for a severely injured child highlights how even priority cases can stall at the highest level.

Elsewhere, Judge Mark Pelling KC’s departure from the Commercial Court and Nigel Bird’s interim appointment underline the quiet but consequential changes in judicial leadership.

Regan also tracks mounting confusion over Part 36 settlements, budgeting practice and unresolved appellate disputes crying out for authoritative resolution.

As ever, procedural nuance rather than headline reform is shaping outcomes, leaving practitioners to navigate uncertainty with patience and precision.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions

NEWS
Uber has built a formidable strategy for insulating itself from liability for drivers’ conduct, but the legal terrain differs sharply between the US and England and Wales
The Civil Justice Council’s review of Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 could mark the end of what one commentator calls an ‘outdated’ and overly technical regime governing solicitor-client fee disputes
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 marks a constitutional watershed by severing the centuries-old link between hereditary titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber
Artificial intelligence, proportionality and public decision-making are under increasing judicial scrutiny, according to the latest public law round-up from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Families relying on informal agreements over property ownership could face costly consequences if disputes arise, the High Court has warned
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