header-logo header-logo

The insider: 12 December 2025

12 December 2025 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8143 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services , Regulatory , Procedure & practice
printer mail-detail
238298
Dominic Regan makes a Christmas wish for the timeliness of the Master of the Rolls & a halt to ever-increasing bundle sizes

When will it end? Mazur, the case of the decade, is off to the Court of Appeal. Neither the claimant nor the defendants are appealing. Nicholas Bacon KC, acting pro bono, has somehow persuaded the court to grant permission to appeal. The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) is the appellant. Its members are justifiably appalled that individuals with real expertise have been demoted and currently are bit-part players on the periphery.

The appeal is to be heard by 1 February, so expect a hearing next month. I do not mean to be impudent when I dare to suggest that Sir Geoffrey Vos MR should preside—not least because I am certain a thorough judgment would be delivered within a fortnight.

Bad faith?

‘Having considered the totality of the evidence, I do not believe the defendant’s claim that he sent the letter dated 25 May

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Browne Jacobson—Matthew Kemp

Browne Jacobson—Matthew Kemp

Firm grows real estate team with tenth partner hire this financial year

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

NEWS
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’
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
Neurotechnology is poised to transform contract law—and unsettle it. Writing in NLJ this week, Harry Lambert, barrister at Outer Temple Chambers and founder of the Centre for Neurotechnology & Law, and Dr Michelle Sharpe, barrister at the Victorian Bar, explore how brain–computer interfaces could both prove and undermine consent
back-to-top-scroll