THIS ISSUE
The invasion of Ukraine and subsequent focus on sanctions has put the spotlight on illicit wealth. Is it time to introduce a failure to prevent economic crime offence?
Former District Judge Stephen Gold dips into the tale of clinical negligence by four separate dentists working from the same practice, in this week’s Civil Way
With fault-free divorce set to come in from 6 April, its time to radically reform the system for separating families, with better support for children and parents, writes Lauren Evans, senior associate, Kingsley Napley, in this week’s NLJ
It’s a buoyant legal jobs market at the moment. Writing in this week’s NLJ, Chris Ball, head of recruitment at gunnercooke, reports on the top trends in legal recruitment from the move to embrace different ways of working to the increasing importance of law firm culture
The Sentencing Council has proposed its first set of guidelines for the offences of perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation
The Home Secretary unlawfully seized more than 2000 mobile phones from asylum seekers and extracted vast amounts of data, the High Court has held
The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has issued guidance on the impact of the family court’s approach to costs of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020
The Bar Council is gathering names of barristers and judges who want to sponsor Ukrainian lawyers to come to the UK, and is hoping to match them with Ukrainian colleagues
Nine out of ten law firms are facing pressure from clients to reduce costs and use different billing arrangements, according to a survey of 200 partners by litigation funder, Harbour
A tool to help law firms assess the cybersecurity arrangements of the chambers whose barristers they instruct has been launched by the Bar Council and Law Society
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Birketts—trainee cohort
Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025
Keoghs—four appointments
Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Brabners—Ben Lamb
Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner
NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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