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NLJ this week: Cost-cutting beckons if leasehold law goes ahead

26 April 2024
Issue: 8068 / Categories: Legal News , Property , Leasehold , Landlord&tenant
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Radical leasehold reform is on its way—but will it deliver, for whom, and how will the profession respond?

In this week’s NLJ, Shabnam Ali-Khan, partner at Russell-Cooke, reviews the contents of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, currently wending its way through Parliament.

Ali-Khan outlines the current state of the law, and sets out the key provisions of the Bill. These set out what costs the landlord can recover, and under what circumstances. She notes that law firms are likely to want to cut their outgoings for this work as a result of the Bill.

The author writes: ‘Proposing such stringent costs measures will have a huge impact on practitioners when acting for landlords. It is not unlikely that many law firms will opt to use artificial intelligence and junior lawyers when acting for landlords in an effort to keep costs down.’ 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS
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After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
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Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
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