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
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
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
Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School and the Frenkel Topping Group—AKA The insider—crowns Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP as his case of 2025 in his latest column for NLJ. The High Court’s decision—that non-authorised employees cannot conduct litigation, even under supervision—has sent shockwaves through the profession. Regan calls it the year’s defining moment for civil practitioners and reproduces a ‘cut-out-and-keep’ summary of key rulings from Mr Justice Sheldon
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