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10 January 2025 / David Greene
Issue: 8099 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Litigation funding , Collective action
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What does 2025 hold for us?

202810
David Greene anticipates attempts to make the litigation process more efficient and less costly…and make or break for litigation funding

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) and its chair, Sir Geoffrey Vos MR, often give us some idea of what the future holds, at least on civil procedure. The CJC held its annual public shindig in mid-November and the subjects covered included artificial intelligence (AI) in litigation, data inequality, and litigation funding—all clearly subjects of note for 2025.

Vos has been at the forefront of the law’s interactions with IT and generative AI both as chair of the CJC and in the Court of Appeal. Indeed, the speed with which the courts and the common law have dealt with developments, including in relation to cryptoassets, has been a selling point for the jurisdiction. How firms and the courts deal with generative AI will, no doubt, be the mark of 2025 and beyond.

One thing the Post Office scandal taught us is the danger of data inequality: that data can

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

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
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
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’ 
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