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05 June 2026 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8164 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Legal services , Disclosure , Consumer , Fees
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The insider: 5 June 2026

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© Getty images
Queen Victoria: Liked to be in charge
Dominic Regan laments a relic of a bygone age of billing & dips into the shark-infested waters of claims management companies

My involvement in three conferences in the last month has enabled me to catch up with many friends and to learn of interesting developments. It also meant that I acquired four notebooks, a mug and lots of useful stickers. From the ever-affable Costs Judge Nagalingam, I heard that Paul Joseph has just been appointed as a full-timer. Another as-yet unnamed appointee is to join the costs bench in August. This means that after years of being short-staffed, it will be back to a full complement of eight, meaning that current backlogs will hopefully be reduced.

The most in-demand solicitors of the moment are employment law practitioners. I had a chat with recruitment agency Clayton Legal which has been inundated with requests to source talent, all due to the drastic imminent reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Commercial firms which did not touch employment cannot ignore

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

DAC Beachcroft strengthens Scottish real estate capabilitywith partner appointment

Womble Bond Dickinson—Brendan Ryan

Womble Bond Dickinson—Brendan Ryan

Womble Bond Dickinson appoints Brendan Ryan as partner in Public Law Projects team

Parklane Plowden Chambers—five appointments

Parklane Plowden Chambers—five appointments

Parklane Plowden Chambers welcomes five new barristers

NEWS
A time-restricted bank tax, a ‘roadmap to fiscal devolution’, extension to parental leave, entrepreneur’s relief and a giveaway on energy bills for households are the headlines in Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey’s 2026 Autumn Budget
A Court of Appeal judge has lamented the ‘very concerning’ state of the law on employee inventor compensation after a chemist’s case took five-and-a-half years to reach court, eventually being listed for a 37-day trial next year
The Law Society has emphasised that responsibility remains human, in a practice note on artificial intelligence (AI)
Respect orders, which enable police, councils, housing associations, transport networks and other authorities to take enforcement action against anti-social behaviour, have come into force across England and Wales
The Land Registry has launched two consultations aimed at making its information more publicly accessible, ‘Restructuring HM Land Registry fees’, and ‘Future of access to HM Land Registry information’
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