‘This article explores the meaning and importance of character for modern legal professionals. It adds to a growing body of work in virtue jurisprudence by providing an empirical perspective from research among practising lawyers in five UK firms. Our study explored three questions: How do legal practitioners understand the meaning and importance of character in their profession? What opportunities are there for the cultivation of virtues in legal practice? How might attention to character development contribute to the application of ethical values that are prized in the legal profession? Interviews with 34 participants were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify prominent themes. There are main emphases: (1) lawyers’ desire to become virtuous, even if their understanding of the process is limited; (2) lawyers’ moral seriousness despite being ethically imperceptive at points; and (3) the influence of lawyers’ work environments on their character and ethicality. The article concludes by outlining potential strategies for the cultivation of character as a way to support ethical legal practice.’

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Legal Ethics, 21st October 2026

Source: www.tandfonline.com

‘In this article we focus on a longstanding example of protective legislation, the criminalisation of landlords who illegally evict or harass their tenants. Illegal eviction was first criminalised in 1964 and then consolidated in the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 which, in an amended form, continues to provide the substance of protections from landlord criminal activity for rental occupiers. Using this example we argue first that the failures of comparative social welfare scholars to integrate protective legislation into their analysis has led to overly generalised characterisations of welfare systems and second that housing scholarship’s focus on security of tenure has largely ignored the radical character of these criminal offences to the detriment of precariously housed households. The article uses time-mapping as a tool to place the criminalisation of landlords within a broader social, economic and political terrain to help understand how it was possible that property owners could be criminalised in relation to their own property, and to illustrate the complexity of and fluidity changes in welfare provision.’

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Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 5th November 2026

Source: www.tandfonline.com

‘The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) (“the Tribunal”) has recently handed down its decision in Hughes Family Property Co Ltd & Anor v Marvin & Ors [2026] UKUT 310 (LC), granting an application to modify a restrictive covenant under section 84(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (“LPA 1925”).’

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Guildhall Chambers, 4th November 2026

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

‘The premises were a 1998 two-storey office building at Crossways Business Park, Dartford. The 2003 lease contained a covenant to keep the premises, expressly including the heating and air-conditioning apparatus, “in good and substantial repair and condition”. It expired on 8 July 2023.’ 

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Gatehouse Chambers, 26th October 2026

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘Lauren Godfrey considers why costs risk in property disputes now turns on forum, procedure and conduct as much as merits.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 26th October 2026

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘Where a claimant has a reduced life expectancy as a result of a tortious injury, he is entitled to claim damages in respect of his net loss of income in the years between his anticipated death, and the age that to which he would have lived but for the injury (“the lost years”).’

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Farrar's Building, 20th October 2026

Source: www.farrarsbuilding.co.uk

‘The Bar Council has called for minimum disruption to the legal services sector during the “comprehensive review of the regulatory framework” announced by the government.’

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Bar Council, 5th November 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘This was an unsuccessful appeal to the Court of Appeal against a possession order by a tenant who argued that the proceedings had not been validly served on him and that, in any event, the order should be set aside.’

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Nearly Legal, 5th November 2026

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

‘We recently highlighted research by JUSTICE on the use by local authority social workers of an AI tool to record and transcribe their own notes of meetings etc. There are potential problems because the original audio recordings aren’t kept and it might be difficult for a social worker giving evidence months later to recognise the written AI version of the meeting, especially if they didn’t get round to reviewing this nearer the time. Additionally. the AI tool tends to ‘fills in gaps’ that might lead to an inaccurate note.

‘A newly published judgment has identified a different problem, where a social worker used an AI tool to assist her to write parenting and kinship assessments for court, and it did also look as though she hadn’t undertaken that vital check before submitting.’

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The Transparency Project, 5th November 2026

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘A judge has described a letter from a claimant’s solicitors on his draft judgment as “about as far away from the conduct expected of solicitors conducting litigation as it is possible to get”.’

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Legal Futures, 6th November 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Graeme Bentley examines a recent decision on post-adoption contact, and what it tells us about the courts’ continuing approach to contact orders where prospective adopters remain opposed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘V. Charles Ward sets out the key provisions in The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026, which will affect any local authority conveyancer who is involved in land regeneration.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Another County Court decision addressing the issue of forced access has now been handed down, providing further guidance for practitioners in this developing area of housing law. Mollie McQuade and Chelsea Wilson-Flynn look at the latest ruling.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A recent case heard by the High Court of England and Wales carries direct lessons for both real estate landlords and tenants navigating the strict compliance demands of break clause payment conditions.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th November 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘A new ruling shows that a consensus may be forming among judges over the legal test that should be applied during Unified Patent Court (UPC) proceedings for determining whether a patent has been infringed by equivalence, experts have said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th November 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘The Parochial Fees for 2027 use the base figures in Schedule 1 of the Parochial Fees Order 2026  increased by the annual increase in CPI as at August 2026; as noted in the 11 October Roundup this increase was 3.3%, compared with 3.8% for the previous year. The Tables of Statutory Parochial Fees as of 27 October 2026 are published in three formats: Parochial Fees 2027 (A3 Full); Parochial Fees 2027 (A4 Full); and Parochial Fees 2027 (A4 Summary). In addition, there is information on other related issues here’

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Law Society Gazette, 6th November 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘Haugen lived and worked in the US, but were she based in England, would she have been protected under existing whistleblowing law? The short answer is maybe, but, ultimately, this would likely depend on whether an Employment Tribunal agreed that it was reasonable for her to have made the disclosures to the media, rather than a regulator. Each stage is explained more below.’

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Kingsley Napley, 5th November 2026

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘In Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill’s third annual report, she acknowledged that both the King’s Bench Division Civil List and the Administrative List “saw growing numbers” of LiPs turning to AI to construct their claims.’

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Law Society Gazette, 6th November 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘If costs discipline is to be meaningful, parties must understand from the outset that disproportionate litigation expenditure will ultimately remain their own responsibility even in a needs case. Money spent on costs is money removed from the resources available to the family.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 6th November 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

‘MacDonald J. Pre-Trial Review concerning the control of expert evidence, W’s further Questionnaire, H’s exhibited affidavits, H’s attendance at final hearing and the trial timetable.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 4th November 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com