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30 June 2023
Issue: 8031 / Categories: Legal News , Costs , Procedure & practice
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NLJ this week: Don’t be vague in your points of dispute

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It pays to be specific when setting out points of dispute, as Laura Rees, council member of the Association of Costs Lawyers, explains in this week’s NLJ

Rees refers to a recent Court of Appeal case of Ainsworth v Stewarts Law, which was ‘the first case of its kind to raise an issue with the content of the points of dispute’.

Rees looks at this case and other recent caselaw where ‘generic points of dispute’ were found wanting. She shares advice on how to make points of dispute specific and clear, while acknowledging that this can be a difficult and arduous task.

Rees writes: ‘What is clear is that specific items and entries need to be itemised, with a clear objection made for each entry as to why the time is being challenged.’ 

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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