THIS ISSUE
An open and rigorous process of accountability of the 22,000 judges in England & Wales is essential if public trust is to be maintained, John Gould, senior partner at Russell-Cooke, writes in this week’s NLJ
The career freedom on offer to lawyers today would have been unrecognisable 25 years ago
Politicians love to look tough on crime and penal policy, but it’s a lamentable tradition, NLJ columnist Jon Robins writes this week
The Law Commission is extending its timetable for choosing its 14th Programme of law reform after receiving about 500 responses covering nearly 200 possibilities for law reform
2021 broke recruitment records for employment lawyers, according to research by market analytics firm Vacancysoft
Low-income individuals with ‘trapped capital’ are unable to access legal aid in 30% of cases, research by the Public Law Project has found
The cap on the number of days the Crown Court can sit during a financial year has been lifted for a second year, in order to tackle the backlog of cases
Proposed clinical negligence costs reforms are ‘unfair’ to injured patients and families of patients who have died, and would act as a barrier to access to justice, personal injury lawyers have warned
The majority of solicitors grew fee income during the pandemic, according to the Law Society’s annual Law Management Section Financial Benchmarking Survey
Targets should be set for the length of time to complete certain criminal cases, such as rape, MPs have told ministers
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace
Thomson Hayton Winkley strengthens family law team
Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall
Construction lawyer returns to Ward Hadaway in Teesside role
Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei
Bird Bird hires leading legal transformation expert
NEWS
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners
Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.
How forcefully can a litigant criticise a public authority before robust advocacy crosses the line into unreasonable conduct?
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