THIS ISSUE
What does this term of Parliament have in store?
The shocking, lurid reporting of British backpacker Grace Millane’s murder trial serves as a reminder that the ‘rough sex’ defence continues to be used to trivialise violence against women and deny victims justice.
Lady Hale retires from the Supreme Court this month, leaving a trove of case law with ‘massive breadth’, writes family lawyer & NLJ columnist David Burrows in this week’s NLJ
Irrelevant details about a victim’s sexual history are not a defence to murder or assault, says Claire Christopholus
The Law Commission has launched its proposals for reform of leasehold, which it claims could potentially save homeowners millions of pounds
Nottingham Law School has won a contract to provide solicitor apprenticeships to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
David Cooper breaks down the costs ruling in Monex
Malicious prosecution of civil claims—a difficult claim to pursue. Kathryn Garbett & Mehmet Karagoz report
With a new Government sworn in, Michael Zander provides an update on what has changed from the No 1 Bill
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Red Lion Chambers—Maurice MacSweeney
Set creates new client and business development role amid growth
Winckworth Sherwood—Charlie Hancock
Private wealth and tax offering bolstered by partner hire
Browne Jacobson—Matthew Kemp
Firm grows real estate team with tenth partner hire this financial year
NEWS
The rank of King’s Counsel (KC) has been awarded to 96 barristers, and no solicitors, in the latest silk round
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’
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
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