THIS ISSUE
Former CILEx President Stephen Gowland has become the first Chartered Legal Executive to be appointed to the Legal Services Board (LSB)
Judges are to be given a 2% pay rise, backdated to 1 April, the government has said
The announcement of ten temporary Blackstone courts (legal equivalent of Nightingale hospitals) ‘feels like the Emperor’s new clothes’, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) chair Caroline Goodwin QC has said
A parliamentary committee is investigating the lack of progress on resolving racial inequalities in the protection of human rights in the UK
Lawyers who enter into damages-based agreements (DBAs) can be paid in the event of early termination, the High Court has confirmed
The long-awaited ‘Russia report’ has called for new legislation to ‘tackle espionage, the illicit financial dealings of the Russian elite and the “enablers” who support this activity’
The Law Commission has proposed radical reforms to home ownership, making it simpler for leaseholders to extend their lease, buy the freehold and take over the management
Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who joined Isis in Syria in 2015 when she was 15 years old, will receive a fair trial only if she is allowed to return to the UK, the Court of Appeal has held
Ten temporary ‘Nightingale’ courts will be up and running in August to help clear the backlog of cases, the government has said
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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