THIS ISSUE
More than three-quarters of candidates have passed the inaugural SQE2 (second part of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam)
Career opportunities in the legal profession are opening up, with new routes to qualification, new career paths and greater flexibility
Those who break embargoes on the publication of draft judgments can expect to find themselves facing contempt proceedings, the Master of the Rolls warned in February, following an embarrassing mishap in chambers
A 2020 report raised hopes that much-needed change was coming to the treatment of domestic abuse cases in the family courts, but what has happened since?
Legal and professional publisher LexisNexis has closed a deal to acquire Caselex, which has built one of the largest merger control databases in the world
A date has been set
for the first stage of a gigantic opt-out class action against Facebook (now
known as Meta), worth a potential £2.2bn
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry called this week for junior associate prosecutors, who are regulated by CILEX, to be allowed to apply for Crown prosecutor positions, to help tackle the backlog of cases
The UK–Rwanda partnership is not legally binding, has not been subject to scrutiny by Parliament, and fails to protect asylum-seekers’ rights, the Law Society has warned
Welsh speaker David Lloyd-Jones, an international, EU and public law barrister, and company law and corporate insolvency barrister Sir David Richards have been appointed to the Supreme Court
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
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
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
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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