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12 May 2023
Issue: 8024 / Categories: Legal News , Legal services , Regulatory
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NLJ this week: The grey area of 'conducting litigation'

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What exactly are reserved legal activities (RLAs), and what is meant by ‘conducting litigation’? It’s an area of the law rife with uncertainties, as shown by the recent case of Baxter v Doble

Writing in this week’s NLJ, Iain Miller, partner, and Charlotte Judd, senior associate, Kingsley Napley, point out that ‘this case and previous authorities have demonstrated that the framework of RLAs under Legal Services Act 2007 is full of grey areas as to when a practitioner does and does not fall on the right side of the line, with potentially very serious repercussions if one gets this wrong’.

Miller and Judd draw out some of the main elements at play when weighing up whether or not litigation is being conducted. In Baxter v Doble, the judge held Mrs Doble and her company were conducting litigation but did not know they were and could not have been reasonably expected to know they were doing so.

Miller and Judd write: ‘The confusing state of the law was a key feature in this conclusion being reached.’ 

Read more on reserved legal activities here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
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