THIS ISSUE
Are your set’s employees ‘fully engaged’ or are they simply ‘coming to work’? Catherine Calder of Serjeants’ Inn lays down some ground rules for running a successful & happy chambers
The legal services market is highly competitive and the proliferation of new technology is overhauling how law firms deliver value and how clients buy legal services
Who can interrogate the data preserved following the execution of a search & seizure order? Paul Johnson & Philip Gardner report
Charles Pigott reflects on Curless & the complexities of addressing discrimination claims in the context of a wider redundancy programme
Victor Smith considers when inference, from inferred knowledge to intent, can result in conviction
Michael Zander records what the Lords Constitution Committee had to say about the Bill
Significant changes are in the pipeline & lawyers need to be aware of what is planned. Dominic Regan puts down some markers
Katherine Deal QC & Asela Wijeyaratne consider the meaning of ‘accident’ under the Montreal Convention
In a short series in the run-up to the December election, Jon Robins does some policy filtering & number crunching
The total number of individuals formally dealt with by the criminal justice system is at the lowest since records began, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures have revealed
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Kennedys—Milan Devani
Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership
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Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes
Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments
DWF—Ian Plumley
Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment
NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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