Partner suffers AI-generated abuse after asking for a fee – Legal Futures

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘A potential client has used AI to abuse a partner at a Bristol law firm, accusing her of being a “greedy solicitor” and a “loathsome criminal” for wanting to charge for a consultation.’

Full Story

Legal futures, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Clients recover £10.40 for every £1 invested in free legal advice – Legal Futures

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Clients receiving free consumer legal advice from agencies funded by the Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF) recover £10.40 in direct financial benefit for every pound invested, a report has found.’

Full Story

Legal futures, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar Council recommends increasing the minimum age of criminal responsibility – Bar Council

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Today the Bar Council has launched its new report: Reviewing the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The report recommends the current threshold should change from age 10 to 14.’

Full Story

Bar Council, 28th June 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

New court stats cast serious doubts over plans to cut jury trials – Bar Council

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘The Bar Council is highlighting new official court backlog figures which show the backlog of cases in the Crown Court has reduced slightly while the open caseload in the magistrates’ court has increased to an unprecedented high. The new data casts serious doubts over the government’s plans to move cases from the Crown Court to the magistrates’ court under its proposals to restrict jury trials.’

Full Story

Bar Council, 25th June 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Aaditya Bajpai: Not a Ministry of Truth: The State’s Positive Duty to Prevent Algorithmically Amplified Misinformation from Triggering Rights-Harming Violence – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”. This line is credited to Mark Twain, but the thought is older. Jonathan Swift complained three centuries ago that falsehood flies while truth comes limping after. What has changed since Swift is not human credulity but infrastructure. The most comprehensive study of online diffusion yet conducted found that false news travels significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth, and it does so through ordinary human sharing rather than automated accounts. The question here is as to what extent the state owes its citizens a duty against misinformation; cannot be resolved at the level of content alone. This post will argue that the state holds a duty that is real but narrow. It is a positive obligation to protect the conditions of safe and autonomous citizenship by regulating the architecture of virality, in the confined circumstances where amplified falsehood foreseeably threatens serious, rights-harming consequences, above all, violence.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 2nd July 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Explanatory guides as rectification evidence – Pensions Barrister

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

Paul Newman KC considers a very recent High Court decision on a rectification application in which particular reliance was placed on the explanatory guides prepared for the trustees and employer on the adoption of a new deed and rules.’

Full Story

Pensions Barrister, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Newbury Racecourse revisited – lessons learned? – Law & Religion UK

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘In our appositely-titled post Burial of unknown ashes without documentation (26 June 2026), we reviewed Re St. Mary the Virgin Greenham [2026] ECC Oxf 11. The dilemma faced by the PCC was that a cremation urn had been left at Newbury Racecourse following a race meeting and despite extensive efforts by the racecourse, police and crematoria to trace relatives or the owner, no next of kin could be identified. Although the police thought they knew the family, they were said to have denied any link to the urn.

The Daily Telegraph has now reported that the urn wasn’t filled with human ashes and that it was taken to the races last year as part of an elaborate joke, The burger van, the fake ashes and the burial no one could stop (1 July 2026).’

Full Story

Law & Religion UK, 2nd July 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

CDM Tribunal: WhatsApp and Snapchat evidence – Law & Religion UK

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘In February 2022, we issued a post on a Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal in the Diocese of Southwark which addressed issues arising from a priest’s use of the “Like” function on his Twitter account. In this case the Complainant was the Archdeacon of Reigate, Diocese of Southwark, and after serving a “Respondent’s answer to a Complaint” in the appropriate format, the Respondent did not engage any further with the process.’

Full Story

Law & Religion UK, 2nd July 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Judges across jurisdictions sanctioned over delays – Law Society Gazette

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘A High Court judge, employment judges and a district judge sitting in the magistrates’ court have all been sanctioned over delays in their judicial work.’

Full Story

Law Society Gazette, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Tip of the iceberg’: CoA clears way for car finance group action – Law Society Gazette

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Claimant lawyers have hailed what they call a landmark victory after appeal judges allowed mis-sold car finance cases to be grouped together as one class action. The Court of Appeal today upheld the High Court’s decision that thousands of claims can be conveniently dealt with under eight ‘omnibus’ claim forms.’

Full Story

Law Society Gazette, 1st July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

In depth: AI slop – law’s quiet epidemic – Law Society Gazette

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Unrepresented parties using generative AI to craft claims threaten to inundate courts with a tide of slop. Solicitors as well as judges need to learn quickly how to respond.’

Full Story

Law Society Gazette, 30th June 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

The Myth of a General Equitable Jurisdiction to Reconsider Financial Remedy Orders – Financial Remedies Journal

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘If the Thwaite jurisdiction exists, the doctrine should only need to be invoked in exceptionally rare cases. Ordinarily, careful drafting of a non-variable property adjustment order should provide for future contingencies, however remote or unlikely.’

Full Story

Financial Remedies Journal, 1st July 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

Criminal Cases Review Commission told to urgently improve after Malkinson failings – The Guardian

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) must urgently improve its investigations to avoid a repeat of failings such as those in the Andrew Malkinson scandal, a watchdog has found.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK housebuilders face class action suit over alleged collusion to inflate prices – The Guardian

Posted July 2nd, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Britain’s biggest housebuilders, including Barratt Redrow and Taylor Wimpey, face a multibillion-pound class action lawsuit over claims that they colluded over higher prices for homebuyers.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 30th June 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ecclesiastical court judgments – June – Law & Religion UK

Posted July 1st, 2026 in news by michael

‘Summaries to the ten consistory court judgments reviewed during June are listed below, with links to the L&RUK review.’

Full Story

Law & Religion UK, 1st July 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Burial of unknown ashes without documentation – Law & Religion UK

Posted July 1st, 2026 in news by michael

In her paper Post-Cremation Ashes: What’s The (Updated) Legal Position? Professor Heather Conway states: “…in England and Wales…the first thing is to distinguish between is who is authorised to collect the remains from the crematorium, and who has the legal right to the ashes once this has occurred”. However, matters became more uncertain subsequent to the these considerations in Re St. Mary the Virgin Greenham [2026] ECC Oxf 11.’

Full Story

Law & Religion UK, 26th June 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

UK cryptoasset regime finalised by FCA – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 1st, 2026 in news by michael

‘The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has finalised new rules and guidance that will apply to businesses seeking to facilitate the buying, trading or storage of cryptoassets in the UK from 25 October 2027.’

Full Story

OUT-LAW.com, 1st July 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Private FDRs Under the Spotlight – Financial Remedies Journal

Posted July 1st, 2026 in news by michael

‘Are private FDRs working? And does the answer depend upon who is answering? Those were the core questions discussed at a gathering of family lawyers – both neutral evaluators and advisers – in central London on 9 June 2026.’

Full Story

Financial Remedies Journal, 29th June 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

LGPS Guidance published – Pensions Barrister

Posted July 1st, 2026 in news by michael

The Government has published its long-awaited package of statutory guidance for the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales, accompanying the investment and governance reforms in the Pension Schemes Act 2026. The guidance covers three linked areas: asset pooling, preparing and maintaining Investment Strategy Statements, and fund governance.’

Full Story

Pensions Barrister, 30th June 2026

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Grandson wins £850k fight with grandad who paid for house and wedding then sued to get money back – The Independent

Posted July 1st, 2026 in news by michael

‘A 90-year-old tiles tycoon who bought his “favourite” grandson a house and funded his five-star wedding has lost an £850,000 court fight after suing him to take the money back.’

Full Story

The Independent, 1st July 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk