Issue: Vol 172, Issue 7966

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