Judicial Review of Local Government Reorganisation – Local Government Lawyer
‘Our experts, Simon Kiely, Olivia Peake and Oliver Dickie go through what you need to know.’
Local Government Lawyer, 22nd July 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Category: news
The End of the Acid Test: What Every Advocate and Health & Social Care Professional Needs to Know – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the Acid Test has created one of the most significant changes to Deprivation of Liberty in recent years. For professionals working across health, social care and advocacy, understanding what this means in practice has never been more important.’ – Panel Discussion.
Local Government Lawyer, 22nd July 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Supreme Court judgment: Beyond Cheshire West – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Supreme Court judgment in A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland: A rejection of the “acid test”, and a redefined “multifactorial” test for deprivation of liberty.’ – Webinar.
Local Government Lawyer, 21st July 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
CA condemns sting that saw solicitor disclose privileged information – Legal Futures
‘The Court of Appeal has strongly condemned ‘privilege hunting’ – illicit methods to obtain information from litigation opponents – in a case where a law firm partner was successfully duped.’
Legal Futures, 22nd July 2026
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Legal aid interim solution introduced for child-focused family courts – Family Law
‘An interim arrangement has been introduced to address difficulties accessing legal aid for decision hearings in child-focused family court proceedings.’
Family Law, 20th July 2026
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Bar Council calls for legal aid to be considered essential public service alongside NHS and education – Bar Council
‘The Justice Select Committee’s report Access to Justice: Legal Aid has warned that declining availability of legal aid and increasing levels of self-representation is creating an ‘unacceptably high risk of miscarriages of justice and undermines the efficient administration’ of the courts.’
Bar Council, 20th July 2026
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
Representative Actions under the UK GDPR – Panopticon
‘Nestled among the well-known remedial provisions of the UK GDPR and DPA 2018 are Article 80 and section 187. These provisions enable data subjects to authorise a representative body to act on their behalf by exercising their rights under Articles 79 and 82 UK GDPR. Good Law Project’s claim against the Reform Party is the first claim brought under these provisions. The judgment in Reform’s strike out and/or summary judgment application, Good Law Project Ltd v Reform UK Part Ltd [2026] EWHC 1458 (KB), is therefore notable for being the first judicial consideration of the regime for representative data actions.’
Panopticon, 20th July 2026
Source: panopticonblog.com
Non-lawyer Alex Norris MP picked as lord chancellor – Law Society Gazette
‘Andy Burnham has become the first Labour prime minister to appoint a non-lawyer to the post of lord chancellor. Alex Norris MP is a former trade union official who was elected to parliament for Nottingham North in 2017. Under Sir Keir Starmer he served as minister for border security and asylum in the Home Office.’
Law Society Gazette, 21st July 2026
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Demanding’ and ‘disrespectful’ magistrate issued with formal warning – Law Society Gazette
‘A magistrate who was accused of “bullying and harassing behaviour” has been issued with a formal warning.’
Law Society Gazette, 21st July 2026
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Coercive control – dressed up as care – Counsel
‘Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts.’
Counsel, 20th July 2026
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
The zero-trust approach to cyber security – Counsel
‘Strong passwords and multi-factorial authentication are no longer enough. Sam Thomas sets out three further security measures barristers should be taking to thwart the ever-increasing threat from international hackers.’
Counsel, 20th July 2026
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
The ‘Sandwich Generation’ Divorce: Financial Pressures Across Generations – Financial Remedies Journal
‘A growing number of middle aged individuals find themselves caught between competing financial responsibilities. The so called “sandwich generation” increasingly face these pressures at the very point when their own relationships are most strained. Divorce within this cohort raises complex issues.’
Financial Remedies Journal, 21st July 2026
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
UK surrogacy law ‘creaking at seams’ as demand rises sharply – The Guardian
‘Surrogates, parents and children are being failed by the UK’s archaic laws, which are “creaking at the seams” as demand for surrogacy grows rapidly, experts have said.’
The Guardian, 21st July 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
Pupil not guilty of trying to murder history teacher after stabbing her in the head – BBC News
‘A pupil has been found not guilty of attempted murder after stabbing his teacher in the head with a kitchen knife.’
BBC News, 20th July 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Mixed drug use and mental ill-health – defence considerations. By Allison Summers K.C. & Giles Fleming – Drystone Chambers
‘It is a scenario with which most defence practitioners will be all too familiar. A defendant who was suffering from obvious mental ill-health at the time of the offending; but who also has a history of drug abuse. What effect, if any, will their mental health have on the case?’
Drystone Chambers, 13th July 2026
Source: www.drystone.com
Sentencing domestic murders: Schedule 21. By Allison Summers K.C. – Drystone Chambers
‘Since 2024 four additional statutory aggravating factors have been added to paragraph 9 of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020.’
Drystone Chambers, 10th July 2026
Source: www.drystone.com
Reform of the law of homicide: Murder and Manslaughter. By Allison Summers K.C. – Drystone Chambers
‘In a report in 2006 the Law Commission described the law governing homicide as: “a rickety structure set upon shaky foundations”. In the 20 years since the report, those structures and foundations have continued to shake.
‘The decision of the Law Commission to publish a consultation paper on homicide offences is therefore to be welcomed even if the final recommendations to government are not expected until 2028.’
Drystone Chambers, 29th June 2026
Source: www.drystone.com
Challenging Restraint Orders under POCA: Variation, Discharge and the New Focus on Dissipation Risk – Doughty Street Chambers
‘Restraint Orders can have immediate and serious consequences for individuals and businesses. Especially in circumstances where there may be little prospect of a charging decision anytime in the near future.
‘In this article we deal with the basics of how to best go about seeking a variation to, or even the complete discharge, of a Restraint Order.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 14th July 2026
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
Invisible pain, visible rights: medical misogyny and the future of equality by design – Doughty Street Chambers
‘For decades, equality law has grappled with the question of “how does the law protect those with invisible disabilities?” Some barriers are physical and obvious: a step without a ramp, a door too narrow for a wheelchair. Others are hidden within systems where the barrier is not a missing ramp, but a missing belief.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 3rd July 2026
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
An observation of a domestic abuse fact finding hearing – a worrying vignette – The Transparency Project
‘In October 2024 I visited the Central Family Court in London. My objective was to observe a hearing before the magistrates. At the time, the Reporting Pilot was in operation and there had been almost no reporting of hearings before magistrates. That remains true today – most reporting by legal bloggers and journalists relates to hearings conducted by judges. I thought it was unsatisfactory that there was almost no visibility or scrutiny of the work of magistrates, who make serious decisions for families across the country, but who have no legal training.’
The Transparency Project, 19th July 2026
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
