Category: news

‘When Pro Bono Week was established in 2002 as a global first, it sought to celebrate and encourage the legal profession’s commitment to volunteering to provide free legal help. In the decades since, pro bono has significantly developed in the UK, as seen for example by the number of pro bono schemes since established, by the fact of having over 100 pro bono professionals at UK law firms, and by the 5,000+ lawyers on this year’s Pro Bono Recognition List.’

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Bar Council, 3rd November 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘We have published our response to the independent Public Bodies Review of the Legal Services Board. We accept the review’s recommendations. Our response explains the changes already made, the work underway and our timetable for further action.’

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Legal Services Board, 5th November 2026

Source: legalservicesboard.org.uk

‘This recently published High Court judgment from Mrs Justice Lieven, K v J & Anor [2026] EWHC 1792 (Fam) appears to have a typo in the headnote which says ‘Between K and J and L (Permission for Consent Proceedings)’. What K was applying for was permission to apply for the committal to prison of his ex-wife (J) and a friend of hers (L) for contempt of court, so we think this should say ‘contempt’ not ‘consent’. The same error appears on both TNA and BAILII.’

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The Transparency Project, 3rd November 2026

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘A settlement should draw a line under a property dispute. Thames Water Utilities Ltd v Imber [2026] EWHC 2720 (KB) is a warning for parties to litigation. Leaving an earlier statement uncorrected can unravel a settlement and trigger repayment consequences.’

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Mills & Reeve, 4th November 2026

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

‘Exeter City Council has no duty to preserve as a museum a historic house it was left in 1983 by a relation of the actor Vivien Leigh, the High Court has decided.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘What can we learn from the most recent statutory nuisance judgment from the Court of Appeal, and what additional issues does the judgment leave untouched? Gordon Wignall explains.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Four leading legal advice charities have expressed their dismay at the government’s failure to accept a single recommendation from the justice select committee on improving the legal aid system.’

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Legal Futures, 4th November 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Handed down on 21 November 2022, Re St. Saviour Croydon [2022] ECC Swk 5, was the first case to be considered under the new provisions of the Faculty Jurisdiction (Amendment) Rules 2022, described here. After coming into force on 1 July 2022, there has now been a total of twenty four consistory court determinations under the new provisions. These have covered a range of heating sources: four examples of heat pump installation; five using some form of electrical heating; ten where the primary source was gas; a further four with other modes of heating and one where solar panels provided supplementary power.’

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Law & Religion UK, 5th November 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘Paul Newman KC explores what the Supreme Court’s decision in Saxon Woods means for pension trustee directors who disagree with a board decision, and when resistance to its implementation may breach their duties.’

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Pensions Barrister, 5th November 2026

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

‘The Burnham government’s ambitious plans to reform local devolution took their first concrete step with the Budget of 28 October. The full plan for devolution will follow in the Rewiring the State Delivery Plan, due before the end of the year. But the Budget already brought significant news on the fiscal powers of English regional and local authorities, set out in the Fiscal Devolution Roadmap. This post looks at the Roadmap and at how it plugs into the legal framework created by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 5th November 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

‘Unrepresentated parties in the family courts are being misled by ‘sycophantic’ AI advice systems, a leading expert in digital justice said this week. In a report for the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, Dr Natalie Byrom – whose 2019 report on digital justice kicked off HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s data strategy – also cautions against embedding overseas-developed proprietary software in the courts system.’

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Law Society Gazette, 5th November 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘The government has announced an overhaul of the rules protecting British design to make protection and enforcement simpler, cheaper, and prevent people copying designs or registering works that are not their own.’

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Law Society Gazette, 4th November 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘A firm can continue to act for its client after a Family Division judge dismissed a litigant in person’s application over an alleged conflict of interest.’

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Law Society Gazette, 4th November 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Building on the work of the Pensions Advisory Group and the IFoA thematic review of work by actuary PODEs, an IFoA working party has published essential new materials to further develop good practice in this area. Family lawyers should look for, and request, PODE adoption of these materials.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 4th November 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

‘A senior crown prosecutor acting cited an imaginary legal precedent in an error that has sparked fresh concerns about AI hallucinations infecting the justice system.’

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The Guardian, 3rd November 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The Metropolitan police have settled a claim brought by a 68-year-old pro-Palestinian activist who accused the force of treating him “like a criminal” when he was arrested under anti-terrorism legislation.’

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The Guardian, 5th November 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A builder who defrauded 10 victims out of more than £377,000 in a “sustained and deliberate” effort has been jailed.’

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BBC News, 4th November 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘One of the UK’s most prolific tax fraudsters has lost his appeal against a judge’s order to repay more than £90m he gained through his crimes.’

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BBC News, 5th November 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘It is well known that challenges to permanent exclusion decisions face limited success in court, and the 2024 to 2026 decisions largely affirm this. However, the reasoning applied by the courts indicates a recent overall trend towards a higher level of judicial scrutiny, culminating in the landmark judgment of R (HVF) v Lift Schools [2026] EWHC 2088 (Admin).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘In Caerphilly County Borough Council v Williamson, R (on the application of) [2026] EWCA Civ 1402, Lord Justices Miles, Nugee and Males all agreed that an argument advanced by the council regarding the definition of “deposits” under section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 was not made out.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk