THIS ISSUE
Costs rates UP; company fees UP; FPR Diary; Rental Rights—and Wrongs; catching up with CAT; don’t mention the (non) MOL.
The Ministry of Justice is once again in the dock as access to justice continues to deteriorate. NLJ consultant editor David Greene warns in this week's issue that neither public legal aid nor private litigation funding looks set for a revival in 2026
Will access to justice gain a much-needed boost in 2026? David Greene fears that the signs are not looking promising
Civil justice lurches onward with characteristic eccentricity. In his latest Civil Way column, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist, surveys a procedural landscape featuring 19-page bundle rules, digital possession claims, and rent laws he labels ‘bonkers’
Can a chief constable be held responsible for disobedient officers? Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth, professor of public law at De Montfort University, examines a Court of Appeal ruling that answers firmly: yes
Harry Lambert & Dr Michelle Sharpe set out how neurotech presents new ways to evidence contractual consent, & new ways to erode it
The High Court has dealt a blow to thousands of Brazilians suing mining giant BHP Group following the collapse of the Fundão Dam
An Osborne Clarke partner has won his appeal against a £50,000 fine from regulators for alleged misuse of ‘without prejudice’ correspondence while representing his client, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi
An attempt to use Mazur to defend a serial fare-dodger charged with making 112 train journeys without a ticket has failed at Westminster Magistrates’ Court
Lord Reed, president of the Supreme Court, has announced he will retire next January
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston
Harneys senior leadership appointments
Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan
Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires
Anthony Collins—Laura Moss
Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector
NEWS
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
Britain’s new acknowledgement that Israel’s occupation is unlawful, and accompanying settlement-goods ban and sanctions, is significant but overdue, argue Danny Friedman KC and Victor Kattan in NLJ this week
New planning fee rises, wider trade union access rights and a service-by-email trap feature in Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
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