THIS ISSUE
Are claims in trespass & nuisance mutually exclusive? Mark Pawlowski investigates intrusions which are more than meets the eye
What implications does the Merricks v Mastercard case have for insurers and consumers?
CILEx Regulation has appointed the University of Law as its training and assessment provider for practice rights. Chartered Legal Executives can now obtain the right to practise one or more reserved areas of activity by completing an assessment of competence
Climate laws such as the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008 are under-delivering on net-zero goals, a report by environmental law firm ClientEarth has found
The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) launched this month, marking the biggest change to qualification routes in 30 years
Fewer than 50% of mid-sized businesses have a formal process in place to track off-payroll workers, despite the IR35 rules for the private sector coming into force five months ago, according to research by accountancy firm BDO
The Big Four accountancy firms are cornering the legal market in a far more sophisticated way than simply poaching work from law firms, according to an investigative report by LexisNexis Legal & Professional
Fixed recoverable costs are to be extended to all cases in the fast track (valued up to £25,000) and, via a new regime, to ‘simpler’ cases valued up to £100,000, the Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland QC has confirmed
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Freeths—Rachel Crosier
Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London
DWF—Stephen Hickling
Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner
Ward Hadaway—44 appointments
Firm invests in national growth with 44 appointments across five offices
NEWS
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
Employment law is shifting at the margins. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ this week, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School examines a Court of Appeal ruling confirming that volunteers are not a special legal species and may qualify as ‘workers’
Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial
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