header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Wills by Zoom

13 August 2020
Issue: 7899 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Wills & Probate
printer mail-detail
Recent intervention by justice ministers to clarify that wills witnessed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic will be considered valid has proved controversial in some quarters

It gave rise to fears remote witnessing would remove safeguards against undue influence and fraud. According to consultant solicitor Nicholas Bevan, however, common law interpreted ‘presence’ fairly broadly anyway. 

In the second part of a two-part series on the witnessing of wills, Bevan looks at the lead up to the government’s announcement of an emergency measure and the approach likely to be taken. 

Read more here. 

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
back-to-top-scroll