THIS ISSUE
Home-working has created legal conundrums for property practitioners—what to do about covenants preventing business use? In this week’s NLJ, Michael Ranson and Taylor Briggs, barristers at Falcon Chambers, explore the recent case of Hodgson v Cook in which a home owner sought modification of a covenant prohibiting home-working.
When you make a mistake when advising a client, what should you do? In this week’s NLJ, John Gould, senior partner at Russell-Cooke, explains why ‘sorry’ may be the hardest word, but not saying it could cost you lots of money.
Costs budgeting, guideline hourly rates and the extension of fixed costs were among the topics covered in a recent batch of recommendations handed down by the Civil Justice Council (CJC). In this week’s NLJ, Julian Chamberlayne and Louise Morgan welcome the ‘various bespoke processes’ championed in the CJC’s final report, and set out their thinking on the reforms ahead.
The fixed costs rules are almost here. Published at the end of last month although not effective until 1 October, ‘palpable anxiety is already coursing through the legal profession,’ Professor Dominic Regan reports in this week’s NLJ.
Ring the bells & sound the drums: the fixed costs rules are almost here. Dominic Regan provides the lowdown on what to expect & how to prepare
Recent years have shown how quickly fortunes can change: Stephen Gerlis makes the case for regular reviews of maintenance payments in private family law
How can the family courts achieve hearings ‘within a reasonable time’? David Burrows sets out some practical ideas for speeding up cases
The rise of home working has created an uncertain landscape for property practitioners: Michael Ranson & Taylor Briggs report on ‘business use’ & the modification of restrictive covenants
Nothing is ever certain in litigation: David Walbank KC assesses the Court of Appeal’s reversal of a first-instance decision on state immunity
The Civil Justice Council has handed down a wide range of recommendations on costs budgeting, guidelines hourly rates & beyond: Julian Chamberlayne & Louise Morgan hail the arrival of a more bespoke approach
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin
Firm strengthens international funds capability with senior hire
Gilson Gray—Jeremy Davy
Partner appointed as head of residential conveyancing for England
DR Solicitors—Paul Edels
Specialist firm enhances corporate healthcare practice with partner appointment
NEWS
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
Writing in NLJ this week, James Harrison and Jenna Coad of Penningtons Manches Cooper chart the Privy Council’s demolition of the long-standing ‘shareholder rule’ in Jardine Strategic v Oasis Investments
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