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22 November 2019 / Catherine Calder
Issue: 7865 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Rules of engagement

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Are your set’s employees ‘fully engaged’ or are they simply ‘coming to work’? Catherine Calder of Serjeants’ Inn lays down some ground rules for running a successful & happy chambers

How engaged is your set’s staff team? The ADP Research Institute’s ‘Global Study of Engagement 2018’ concluded from a sample of 19,346 employees across 19 countries that only 15.9% were ‘fully engaged’, with the rest simply ‘coming to work’. Similarly, the ‘2018 State of the Global Workplace Report’ from Gallup found that 85% of employees were either ‘not engaged or actively disengaged’ at work.

Employee engagement is defined by the CIPD as ‘emphasis[ing] both employees’ well-being and performance… offer[ing] a mutual gains view of the employment relationship, seeking the good of employees and the organisation in tandem’. Its benefits are well established. While we may be understandably wary of some of the theory—terminology such as ‘enculturation trajectory’ and ‘neuro-linguistic programmes’ are unlikely ever to be bandied about at the Bar—it’s hard to ignore the results. A University of Bath School of Management 2012

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

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Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

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DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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