THIS ISSUE
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has said it anticipates a significant call on resources in the next financial year
The UK’s legal services sector generated £43.7bn in 2023 (up 5.6% on the previous year), according to research by industry lobby group TheCityUK
Barristers have been told they must remove wigs and gowns before leaving the Old Bailey, as this has been highlighted as a security concern
Inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour, bullying, harassment and discrimination at the Bar is a ‘systemic issue’, the Bar Council has said, after research uncovered shocking levels of abuse at work
MPs have passed the controversial Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill despite concerns expressed by lawyers
The High Court was due to hear a judicial review this week brought by the Law Society against the Lord Chancellor’s decision not to increase criminal defence solicitors’ legal aid rates by 15%
Increasing numbers of deprivation of liberty orders are being made against children, family law campaigners have warned. Yet, in the majority of cases, the parents or carers concerned have no access to legal advice
Baroness Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, and senior judiciary have issued guidance advising that judicial office holders ‘must be alive to the potential risks’ of artificial intelligence (AI)
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Freeths—Rachel Crosier
Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London
DWF—Stephen Hickling
Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner
Ward Hadaway—44 appointments
Firm invests in national growth with 44 appointments across five offices
NEWS
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
Employment law is shifting at the margins. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ this week, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School examines a Court of Appeal ruling confirming that volunteers are not a special legal species and may qualify as ‘workers’
Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial
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