THIS ISSUE
After a quiet few weeks, Ian Smith breaks the silence & tackles a Polkey reduction & the meaning of ‘because of’...
Patrick Allen & Bahareh Amani highlight the importance of championing diversity & inclusion
Marian Bloodworth, ELA chair, outlines the current pressures on practitioners & calls for change
Family Arbs: the likely bill; Human Rights alive; Champers with water for tenants; Fit and proper on the pitch
The High Court has struck out a gigantic group action with more than 200,000 claimants against BHP Group over the 2015 Fundão dam catastrophe in Brazil, releasing iron ore mine tailings into the Doce River, which resulted in 19 deaths and destruction on a massive scale, including the obliteration of entire villages
A Joint Committee on Human Rights report, ‘Black people, racism and human rights’, published this week, has drawn stark conclusions on inequalities in healthcare, criminal justice, immigration and democracy
Global law firm DWF has launched a work placement programme for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals interested in pursuing a career in law
Tenants will be protected from eviction until 11 January 2021, at the earliest, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has said
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Birketts—trainee cohort
Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025
Keoghs—four appointments
Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Brabners—Ben Lamb
Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner
NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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