THIS ISSUE
Writing in NLJ this week, Katherine Harding and Charlotte Finley of Penningtons Manches Cooper examine Standish v Standish [2025] UKSC 26, the Supreme Court ruling that narrowed what counts as matrimonial property, and its potential impact upon claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
In this week's NLJ, Dr Jon Robins, editor of The Justice Gap and lecturer at Brighton University, reports on a campaign to posthumously exonerate Christine Keeler. 60 years after her perjury conviction, Keeler’s son Seymour Platt has petitioned the king to exercise the royal prerogative of mercy, arguing she was a victim of violence and moral hypocrisy, not deceit. Supported by Felicity Gerry KC, the dossier brands the conviction 'the ultimate in slut-shaming'
Without enforcement, judgments are worthless. HHJ Karen Walden-Smith sets out the Civil Justice Council’s recommendations to improve effectiveness & efficiency
Antonia Mee on why all professionals involved in family law should be trained to recognise trauma
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, discusses the application and benefits of repeat drug and alcohol testing in the Family Court
In this week's employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor at UEA, surveys a run of Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) rulings underscoring the procedural rigour of tribunal practice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published a statement in a bid to clear up confusion over the right to conduct litigation following Mazur and another v Charles Russell Speechleys
Homebuyers could be given an option to sign a binding contract with vendors to protect against the practice of parties pulling out of agreements after months of negotiations, under a proposed overhaul of conveyancing laws
A future Conservative government would abolish the Sentencing Council and Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and sack judges who defended migrants’ rights, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has said
The right of the press to report on the criminal courts received a boost this week, following an update to the Criminal Procedure Rules
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Red Lion Chambers—Maurice MacSweeney
Set creates new client and business development role amid growth
Winckworth Sherwood—Charlie Hancock
Private wealth and tax offering bolstered by partner hire
Browne Jacobson—Matthew Kemp
Firm grows real estate team with tenth partner hire this financial year
NEWS
The rank of King’s Counsel (KC) has been awarded to 96 barristers, and no solicitors, in the latest silk round
Neurotechnology is poised to transform contract law—and unsettle it. Writing in NLJ this week, Harry Lambert, barrister at Outer Temple Chambers and founder of the Centre for Neurotechnology & Law, and Dr Michelle Sharpe, barrister at the Victorian Bar, explore how brain–computer interfaces could both prove and undermine consent
Comparators remain the fault line of discrimination law. In this week's NLJ, Anjali Malik, partner at Bellevue Law, and Mukhtiar Singh, barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, review a bumper year of appellate guidance clarifying how tribunals should approach ‘actual’ and ‘evidential’ comparators. A new six-stage framework stresses a simple starting point: identify the treatment first
In cross-border divorces, domicile can decide everything. In NLJ this week, Jennifer Headon, legal director and head of international family, Isobel Inkley, solicitor, and Fiona Collins, trainee solicitor, all at Birketts LLP, unpack a Court of Appeal ruling that re-centres nuance in jurisdiction disputes. The court held that once a domicile of choice is established, the burden lies on the party asserting its loss
Early determination is no longer a novelty in arbitration. In NLJ this week, Gustavo Moser, arbitration specialist lawyer at Lexis+, charts the global embrace of summary disposal powers, now embedded in the Arbitration Act 1996 and mirrored worldwide. Tribunals may swiftly dismiss claims with ‘no real prospect of succeeding’, but only if fairness is preserved
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