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17 January 2025 / Brice Dickson
Issue: 8100 / Categories: Features , In Court , Profession
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Reflections on the Supreme Court in 2024

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Justice reigns supreme: Brice Dickson rounds up the work of the Supreme Court justices in 2024
  • The Supreme Court’s composition, judgments delivered, and topics covered in 2024.

There were no changes to the complement of Supreme Court justices during 2024 and none of the 12 is due to be replaced during 2025. Lord Hodge, the deputy president, has let it be known that he will retire at the end of 2025, even though he will then be only 72, two and a half years short of the compulsory retirement age. Lord Richards is required to retire by June 2026, when he reaches 75. It is to be hoped that at least one of the replacement justices in 2026 will be female, since at present there are only two women on the court. Lord Reed, the president of the court, has already served for longer than anyone else (12 years) and can, if he wishes, continue in post until 2031.

In 2024 four judges from the supplementary panel

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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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