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NLJ this week: Gold on fees, Vento awards & clear drafting

19 April 2024
Issue: 8067 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Civil way , Fees , Employment
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Court fees are going up on 1 May! In this week’s ‘Civil way’, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, reports that 172 fees are affected, although some have escaped Those are not the only fee hikes, as Gold notes

Gold also covers the latest CPR updates, a digital extension for employment tribunal litigants and a new threshold at the Rolls Building: ‘If your claim fails to top £5m then the eight judges normally sitting in the Commercial Court would like you to take your business elsewhere.’ He outlines the various Vento awards for injury to feelings and psychiatric injury.

He praises the latest guidance on Bill drafting, which he recommends for anyone drafting documents, including, for example, that ‘legislation should speak firmly but not shout’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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