THIS ISSUE
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been given 12 months to improve its safeguarding of risk, intervention and client money, under binding directions issued in response to the Axiom Ince scandal
The regulators of both barristers and solicitors have launched consultations on the way lawyers handle complaints
A higher proportion of legal work will be done in-house in the next five years, more than half (54%) of UK in-house counsel and a third (35%) of lawyers in private practice believe
The Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), a key reference book for judges, has been updated with guidance on emotional support animals
Former criminal defence barrister, Solicitor General, MP and Victim’s Commissioner Dame Vera Baird KC has been appointed interim chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)
The way judges are selected will change in October, when the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) implements the Judicial Skills and Abilities Framework (JSAF)
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) online portal is still offline following the cyber-attack in April
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown
Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team
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Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick
North west team expands with senior private client and property hires
Ward Hadaway—Paul Wigham
Firm boosts corporate team in Newcastle to support high-growth technology businesses
NEWS
NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)
NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
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