THIS ISSUE
Employment law change was a key plank of prime minister Keir Starmer’s first king’s speech
The Finch ruling on ‘downstream’ emissions in environmental impact assessments is a seminal judgment by the Supreme Court
Group litigation, also known as class actions, is on the rise
Child relocation cases ‘remain difficult and finely balanced’, Victoria Rylatt and Sarah Hughes, Anthony Gold Solicitors, write in this week’s NLJ
What do lawyers hope for as the Keir Starmer government gets to work? In this week’s NLJ, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC calls for more access to justice while Mary Young sets out a wish list from the legal profession
Judges are urged to keep it brief, former district judge Stephen Gold writes in this week’s Civil way
Lawyers and campaign groups have welcomed the inclusion of a ‘Hillsborough Law’ in the King’s Speech, and urged the government to set up an oversight body to ensure the recommendations of inquests and public inquiries are put into action
The criminal justice system must have a ‘culture’ where ‘it is acknowledged that mistakes can be made’, Chris Henley KC has said, in his independent review of the Andrew Malkinson case
The Law Society has urged the new government to update the means test in line with inflation, bringing 5.5 million more people in scope
From planning to arbitration, lawyers welcomed a bumper package of 40 bills in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech
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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