THIS ISSUE
In a tribute to John Le Carré, Athelstane Aamodt reflects on the operation & enforcement of official secrets laws
The approach to regulation of professional conduct outside of practice stands on a firmer footing post the Ryan Beckwith case
NLJ columnist Stephen Gold has marriage on his mind, in this week’s ‘Civil Way’ column
David Locke discusses preserving Gillick competence in the light of cases of gender dysphoria
Michael Zander on whether there was parliamentary scrutiny worthy of the name
Ian Smith takes a leap into the new year reporting on two important statements of principle & an adventurous challenge
Simon Parsons reflects on the UK Internal Market Bill & attempts to exclude judicial review for errors of law
Dominic Regan highlights the positives in civil litigation from a grim 2020
Hands off companies; Hands off stock; Hands off house; Feet up for divorce
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Sidley—James Inness
Partner joins capital markets team in London office
Haynes Boone—William Cecil
Firm announces appointment of partner as UK general counsel
Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows
Firm appoints first chief marketing officer to drive growth strategy
NEWS
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’
The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
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