THIS ISSUE
Not every change to our working lives post-COVID is a step forward: David Locke laments the loss of pre-pandemic positives
Beyond construction: C Haward Soper champions the benefits of statutory adjudication for the resolution of a wide range of disputes
Mandatory mediation: an impossible contradiction? Not in Ontario, Canada. Jennifer Egsgard reports.
Masood Ahmed outlines why there are no retrospective appeals in arbitration
A new regime for examining business transactions from a national security standpoint is on the way: Sophia Purkis & Judith Davidge provide an overview
Robin Kingham provides an update on the status of Tomlin Order settlements in relation to consumer credit law
Simon Parsons examines the Law Commission’s analysis of the current law & puts forward the case for reform
Product liability post-Brexit: Sarah Moore & Stuart Warmington discuss what the post-Brexit ‘new world’ might look like for product regulation in the UK
Whiplash reform, class action claims & risky rule changes: Dominic Regan provides the inside scoop
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye
Investigations and corporate crime expert joins as partner
Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw
Veteran funds specialist joins investment funds team
Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield
Firm enhances competition practice with London partner hire
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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