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17 March 2023 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8017 / Categories: Opinion , Costs , Procedure & practice , Litigation funding , ADR , Profession
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The insider: 17 March 2023

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Fixed costs to come when the leaves fall? Dominic Regan tackles listing woes, distressed litigation funders & what’s spooking the banks

I have it in writing from Lord Bellamy KC. ‘The extension of fixed recoverable costs will be implemented in October 2023,’ he wrote on 27 February. The failure to deliver rules as promised last October and then a further postponement of changes next month had led more than a few to think it was all going to be abandoned.

A reprieve has been granted in housing cases. There was genuine concern that those in dire straits would lose all hope of representation in such matters if costs were suppressed by regulations. Last month, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that nothing would change for two years. In fact, the delay will be longer. It might be forever. A general election must take place by 24 January 2025. In all probability it will be before then. As soon as a date is fixed, the civil service enters a

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

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
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’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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