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10 September 2020 / Matthew Kay
Issue: 7901 / Categories: Features , Profession , Covid-19
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No turning back? Lessons from lockdown

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Matthew Kay highlights the opportunities presented by the ‘new normal’ of the post-lockdown legal landscape
  • Key takeaways from lockdown: Trusting employees—office based to more remote working; Faith in the flexible—adopting a flexible working policy on a large scale; A supportive work environment—continuing to communicate and build strong relationships.

 


 

As we ease out of lockdown and embark on our ‘new normal’, we should not forget the lessons learnt from the last few months. Some have experienced hardship, loss and health difficulties—this hasn’t been a rosy time. However, the slower pace of life has given us time to reflect on who and what we value in our lives, which can easily be forgotten when juggling the priorities of the day-to-day.

Law firms now find themselves in a different legal landscape. A few have not survived and the coming months will be full of opportunity as well as challenges.

Spotlight

In recent years interest and initiatives to improve lawyers work life balance have grown and during lockdown there’s been

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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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