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
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
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
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