THIS ISSUE
Law reform to give more rights to cohabiting couples has been on the campaign agenda for a long time, but is a blanket approach best? In this week’s NLJ, Caroline Bowden, consultant at Anthony Gold, looks at the difference between couples who have chosen not to legally regulate their relationship, and those where one partner has economic power and the other does not.
We need robust new legislation to tackle the online advertising of prostitution, writes Lesley Manley
Most documentary evidence is in digital format, mainly stored in cloud-based platforms, but is the new model search and imaging order, which came into force in April, fit for purpose? In this week’s NLJ, Mary Young, partner, Kingsley Napley, considers this question in depth.
A waste of time or due process? Neil Parpworth reports on the Lords debating the Lords
Caroline Bowden sets out the need for cohabitation reform—for some couples but not others
The new model search & imaging order lacks the clarity needed for the digital age, argues Mary Young
Whistleblowing protection is inching forward with judicial help, writes Charles Pigott—but reform is still needed
Could we soon be tapping out wills on our phones, ask Brendan Udokoro & Kiera Quinn
Electronic wills—inevitable in a digital era, or an abomination liable to wreak fraudulent chaos? In this week’s NLJ, Brendan Udokoro, associate, and Kiera Quinn, associate (New Zealand qualified), Howard Kennedy, examine the pros and cons, risks and rewards of allowing people to tap out their will on their phone or laptop.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson
Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme
Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton
Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team
Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood
Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property
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
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’
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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