THIS ISSUE
More than three-quarters of candidates have passed the inaugural SQE2 (second part of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam)
Career opportunities in the legal profession are opening up, with new routes to qualification, new career paths and greater flexibility
Those who break embargoes on the publication of draft judgments can expect to find themselves facing contempt proceedings, the Master of the Rolls warned in February, following an embarrassing mishap in chambers
A 2020 report raised hopes that much-needed change was coming to the treatment of domestic abuse cases in the family courts, but what has happened since?
Legal and professional publisher LexisNexis has closed a deal to acquire Caselex, which has built one of the largest merger control databases in the world
A date has been set
for the first stage of a gigantic opt-out class action against Facebook (now
known as Meta), worth a potential £2.2bn
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry called this week for junior associate prosecutors, who are regulated by CILEX, to be allowed to apply for Crown prosecutor positions, to help tackle the backlog of cases
The UK–Rwanda partnership is not legally binding, has not been subject to scrutiny by Parliament, and fails to protect asylum-seekers’ rights, the Law Society has warned
Welsh speaker David Lloyd-Jones, an international, EU and public law barrister, and company law and corporate insolvency barrister Sir David Richards have been appointed to the Supreme Court
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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