THIS ISSUE
One single regulator for all legal services, regulation of all paralegals and a duty on regulators to ‘creatively’ tackle access to justice barriers are among a raft of proposals being considered by the Legal Services Board (LSB).
The Crown Court backlog has risen 11% to an all-time high of more than 74,000 cases.
The nine-year reform programme to modernise and digitalise the courts has ended.
Local authorities are increasingly using ‘deprivation of liberty’ orders to house troubled children in unregistered accommodation often many miles from home, the Law Society has warned.
Entries are now open for the National Paralegal Awards, hosted by CILEX, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
The legal sector has missed out on direct investment in Chancellor, Rachel Reeves’s Spring Statement
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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