THIS ISSUE
What happens where an employer thinks an employee has resigned but they haven’t? This is one of a trio of cases covered in this week’s NLJ employment law brief by Ian Smith, barrister, emeritus professor of employment law at the Norwich Law School, UEA.
Johnson v FirstRand sent ‘shockwaves through the financial services industry’, write Eddie Flanagan, partner and specialist in asset and debt recovery, and Harpreet Sandhu, Chartered Legal Executive at Shakespeare Martineau, in this week’s NLJ. They discuss the case and its astonishing implications. For example, Santander UK revealed in November that it has set aside £295m for potential compensation.
A large number of civil, family and tribunal fees are about to go up (and a couple of dozen will go down). In this week’s NLJ, former district judge Stephen Gold crunches the numbers ahead of 1 April. As Gold writes, ‘issue before then and clients will be much impressed’.
With artificial intelligence (AI) advancing at dizzying speed, is the UK too slow to regulate? In this week’s NLJ, Robert Taylor, CEO and general counsel at 360 Law Group, explores the risks of inadequate regulation in this sector, including for the economy.
How is the legal sector adapting to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models for eDisclosure? In this week’s NLJ, Jake Pennington-Slater, eDiscovery Manager, Freeths, traces the development of AI and other tech in eDisclosure in recent years and considers the future.
In an unusual case, a father recently called habeas corpus on behalf of his own children who had been placed in foster care. In this week’s NLJ, Nicholas Dobson covers The Father v Worcestershire County Council in which the Supreme Court discussed the application of the ancient writ in a very modern setting.
The rise of deepfake videos, deepfake porn and unsolicited sexual images (cyberflashing) is an alarming and increasingly prevalent problem. In this week’s NLJ, Jenni Dempster KC and Maleeka Bokhari, Red Lion Chambers, look into this abuse, the harm it causes and the legal protections that exist, notably the Online Safety Act 2023.
From deepfakes to cyberflashing, 2025 must be the year to eliminate the technology-facilitated abuse of women, write Jenni Dempster KC & Maleeka Bokhari
Good things come in threes: in this month’s employment brief, Ian Smith rounds up a triple whammy from the Employment Appeal Tribunal on crossed wires, application errors & misconduct
Is there any room for habeas corpus in the modern regime surrounding care orders? Only very exceptionally, the Supreme Court has ruled: Nicholas Dobson reports
MOVERS & SHAKERS
London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy
Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year
Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles
Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family
Foot Anstey—five promotions
Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas
NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’
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