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Strange but true

08 January 2016 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7681 / Categories: Features
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Dominic Regan casts a playful eye over (judicial) crimes & misdemeanors which made headlines in 2015

What a strange year we had in 2015! The oddity being that the judiciary created the problems rather than resolved them. A vast amount of legal effort was thrown at Coventry and others v Lawrence and another [2015] UKSC 50 [2015] All ER (D) 234 (Jul) which came to nothing. I blame Lord Neuberger. Nothing personal mind. In July 2014 he gave a judgment in the substantive dispute which was about the law of nuisance. In concluding, he wondered aloud whether the conditional fee regime might offend Art 6. It could be said that the other side might be intimidated by the extra costs burden which a successful litigant would inflict. Let us adjourn and hear detailed argument, he directed.

Seven months later, seven judges heard submissions from the 23 barristers in court who were fed fine lines by 15 solicitors. The 5-2 majority found that the system of recoverability, in place since 2000, was not unlawful and so we

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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
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
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
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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
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