THIS ISSUE
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The number of divorces per year has fallen below 10,000 for the first time since the 1970s, prompting family lawyers to renew calls for marriage reform.
Access to justice, to a career at the Bar and to international markets will be the priorities for 2020, Bar Chair Amanda Pinto QC has said in her inaugural speech
Little has been achieved during the Brexit years because the government has been overwhelmed by preparations for life outside the EU
Law firm welcomes new family law specialist
The shortage of medical expert witness in the family courts is creating delays ‘likely in some cases to be harmful to children’, a working group has found
Divorce specialist joins Reading Office
Building on existing talent
Global arbitration law firm announces new counsel
The Supreme Court has extended the scope of protection for whistleblowers, in a ruling that a Royal Mail employee was unfairly dismissed
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams
Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant
Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias
International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner
Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven
Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth
NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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