THIS ISSUE
Ian Gascoigne of LexisNexis dissects the uneasy balance between open justice and confidentiality in England’s civil courts, in this week's NLJ. From public hearings to super-injunctions, he identifies five tiers of privacy—from fully open proceedings to entirely secret ones—showing how a patchwork of exceptions has evolved without clear design
Could tortious liability be the only tool to make Big Tech pay for the psychological harms stemming from social media use? Harry Lambert issues a call to arms
Writing in NLJ this week, Nikki Edwards, president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and partner at Howard Kennedy LLP, welcomes a landmark transparency initiative
Developers beware: cynical breach cases are on the rise, write Caroline Shea KC & Richard Miller
Firm strengthens international arbitration team with key London hire
Asylum seekers would be allowed ‘a single appeal’ at a new, independent appeals body staffed by adjudicators, in a substantial reform package on asylum
Property lawyers have urged landlords to act quickly if they are considering regaining possession of their properties, ahead of major reforms to the private rental sector
Contempt of court laws would be split into four distinct categories, under Law Commission recommendations to make them fit for the digital age
Australia-headquartered mining giant BHP has been held strictly liable as ‘polluters’ for the Fundão dam disaster in Brazil, in one of the largest group actions ever brought in the English courts
CILEX has applied for permission to appeal Mazur, the decision that legal executives and paralegals cannot conduct litigation even when supervised by a solicitor
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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