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The insider: 17 October 2025

17 October 2025 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8135 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Regulatory , Legal services , Tax , Costs , Disclosure
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Dominic Regan crowns his case of the year with a cut-out-and-keep guide, plus highlights some bumper judgments to read as the nights draw in

Like it or not, the case of the year for civil practitioners is without a doubt Mazur and another v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB). Oh, the irony of it all. A High Court decision that has caused mass hysteria was provoked by a dispute over an unpaid bill rendered by a firm of solicitors to clients who are qualified but non-practising solicitors. The solicitors instructed another firm of solicitors to recover the alleged debt.

I set out below the exquisite summary of the three key aspects of the judgment delivered by Mr Justice Sheldon. It was written by Juliet Oliver, managing director of Stratify, and I am so grateful for her permission to reproduce it. Commentaries are everywhere, including in this fine journal. I am stepping back for now, but will flag up the view of my great

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Red Lion Chambers—Maurice MacSweeney

Red Lion Chambers—Maurice MacSweeney

Set creates new client and business development role amid growth

Kingsley Napley—Tim Lowles

Kingsley Napley—Tim Lowles

Sports disputes practice launchedwith partner appointment

mfg Solicitors—Tom Evans

mfg Solicitors—Tom Evans

Tax and succession planning offering expands with returning partner

NEWS
The rank of King’s Counsel (KC) has been awarded to 96 barristers, and no solicitors, in the latest silk round
Can a chief constable be held responsible for disobedient officers? Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth, professor of public law at De Montfort University, examines a Court of Appeal ruling that answers firmly: yes
Early determination is no longer a novelty in arbitration. In NLJ this week, Gustavo Moser, arbitration specialist lawyer at Lexis+, charts the global embrace of summary disposal powers, now embedded in the Arbitration Act 1996 and mirrored worldwide. Tribunals may swiftly dismiss claims with ‘no real prospect of succeeding’, but only if fairness is preserved
The Ministry of Justice is once again in the dock as access to justice continues to deteriorate. NLJ consultant editor David Greene warns in this week's issue that neither public legal aid nor private litigation funding looks set for a revival in 2026
Civil justice lurches onward with characteristic eccentricity. In his latest Civil Way column, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist, surveys a procedural landscape featuring 19-page bundle rules, digital possession claims, and rent laws he labels ‘bonkers’
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