THIS ISSUE
Professional indemnity premiums are increasing (by an average of 30% for small and medium sized firms according to the LexisNexis Bellwether Report 2021), but how serious is the threat, and is it really fuelling an exodus of solicitors from private practice and into the arms of larger firms? Barrister and journalist Veronica Cowan investigates, in this week’s NLJ.
What does the year ahead hold for building safety regulations? Secretary of State Michael Gove spoke tough words in January when he told those who mis-sold dangerous products such as cladding or insulation: ‘We are coming for you.’
Law firms have been given guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) on creating healthy work environments, after a review highlighted an array of concerns
Social media companies will be expected to take proactive action to prevent online abuse happening, rather than simply react once abuse has occurred, under proposed legislation
Many victims of crime don’t understand the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and how it makes decisions, the CPS said last week in its response to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) consultation on a new Victims’ Bill, ‘Delivering justice for victims’
The government has said will begin a review of prison mental health in the spring, in its response to a Justice Committee report, Mental Health in Prisons
Research into gaps in access to justice across England and Wales has been commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
Ryanair has lost its appeal against an order to pay compensation to passengers affected when its pilots went on strike in 2018, in Civil Aviation Authority v Ryanair [2022] EWCA Civ 76
Peers have raised objections to government plans for prospective-only quashing orders and the removal of Cart appeals, during the second reading of the Judicial Review and Courts Bill
Brexit campaign company Leave.EU has lost its appeal against a ruling that it breached data protection laws after failing to turn up to court
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva
Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice
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Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson
London labour and employment team announces partner hire
Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly
Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion
NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
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