THIS ISSUE
Is there potential for a legal claim for reparations for the slave trade? Thomas Roe KC examines the possibilities & limitations under public international law
Maurice MacSweeney explains how funders are evolving beyond single-case litigation
Who would believe a granite outcrop in Dartmoor to be one of the oldest seats of English law in the country? William Gibson charts the pre-Norman origins of the tinners’ parliament of Crockern Tor
Complainants in rape and sexual offences cases could have an automatic right to give evidence in private or via a live link, under an overhaul of the rules.
Foreign companies which own UK property may owe fines of almost £1bn for failing to comply with a new law, a solicitor has warned.
Barbara Mills KC has been elected vice chair of the Bar Council for 2024.
A further 86 individuals and entities have been sanctioned by the UK.
A trainee solicitor has won a breach of contract claim against his former firm after it changed the office location days before his start date.
Stricter safeguards will apply to police requests to access rape victims’ therapy notes or other personal records during the investigation stage, under a government amendment last week to the Victims and Prisoners Bill.
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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