‘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.’

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The Transparency Project, 19th July 2026

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal over the dismissal of a judicial review claim concerning a London borough’s decision to close an adult education centre.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th July 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘In April 2024 there was a great deal of optimism that the new rules and pre-action protocols would inform practice and change culture around NCDR. However, two years on, what has really changed?’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 20th July 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

‘Making the argument for contextual literacy in courts, Stephen Cragg KC illustrates how lawyers in freedom of expression cases can benefit from an understanding of art history.’

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Counsel, 20th July 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘A businessman described as the “architect and originator” of a plot to plant a fake bomb outside a barristers’ chambers has lost an appeal against his conviction and sentence.’

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Law Society Gazette, 17th July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Calls by academics and thinktanks for an overhaul of the 2007 Legal Services Act seem to have been around almost as long as the legislation itself. But some hope Richard Lloyd’s review of the operation of the Legal Services Board may prove an inflexion point.’

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Law Society Gazette, 19th July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘A criminal barrister who helped a gangster trace a gunman who tried to assassinate him is facing a long prison sentence and the end of her legal career.’

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Legal Futures, 20th July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’,  say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy.’

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Counsel, 20th July 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘The smarter the machines, the more vital the human advocate. As AI reshapes the profession, Lynda Gibbs KC (Hon) and Wendy Showell Nicholas show why empathy, judgement and persuasion are the barrister’s greatest strengths.’

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Counsel, 20th July 2026

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘A prominent barrister and academic has put forward plans to create two new institutes – one for civil justice reform and the other for access to justice – to help remove the barriers that prevent 3.5m people each year from getting the legal support they need.’

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Legal Futures, 20th July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The House of Commons adjourned on Thursday for the summer recess and will not sit again until Tuesday 1st September. It rose with the Immigration and Asylum Bill, debated at second reading the previous Monday, fresh in its wake, and with the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ (‘JCHR’) legislative scrutiny of the Bill under way.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th July 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘A review into UK insolvency rules reflects the need to ensure that the rules remain fit for purpose, improve efficiency, and adapt to changing economic and technological conditions, in particular developments in artificial intelligence (AI), digital assets and cryptocurrencies, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th July 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘The focus of this article is on the criticality of legal professional expertise in the evolution of the regulation of the legal professions in England and Wales. In tracing the history of the regulation of the English legal professions from its earliest antecedents to date, it is shown that legal professional expertise was originally a matter of professional self-interest and within the domain of the legal professions themselves, but was also always a matter of public interest; in that it informs those legal services upon which the functioning of society depend, and is also a normative necessary foundation for citizenship and the realization of fundamental human rights.’

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Southern University Law Review, June 2026

Source: www.researchgate.net

‘On Thursday, the Government published Tying the knot: reforming weddings law in England and Wales: consultation document. Its proposals follow the Law Commission’s 2022 report, Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law and the Government’s announcement of its intention to reform the law.

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Law & Religion UK, 19th July 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘The proposals in this consultation follow our 2022 report on weddings law, where we published our final recommendations proposing a fairer system that gives couples more choice over where and how their wedding takes place. The Government responded to our report in October 2025 giving its intention to modernise wedding law.’

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Law Commission, 16th July 2026

Source: lawcom.gov.uk

‘In B and G (Fact-Finding) [2026] EWCA Civ 860, Lord Justice Baker, with whom Lady Justice Andrews and Lord Justice Holgate agreed, concluded that the judge’s decision to deliver the judgment ex tempore from notes was “unwise […] in a case of this complexity”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th July 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Research based on reports from barristers has shown the “endemic” and “routine” nature of delays caused by the late delivery of prisoners to court, casting doubt over the validity of official data.’

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Bar Council, 16th July 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘“Impact Assessments should be published when decisions are made.” That is the recorded position of the Minister for Migration and Citizenship, given to a Lords committee this spring. It is the settled position of the Court of Appeal that the duty to have regard to a policy’s impacts must be performed before and at the time the policy is under consideration. This post is about the space between those two statements — and a set of dates, already in the diary, that will determine whether it closes or widens. None of this is, at bottom, about immigration: it concerns the relationship in time between ministerial decision-making and the evaluative duties Parliament and the common law attach to it.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 17th July 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

‘A recent ruling by the High Court in London on fraudulent breach of warranty claims has reaffirmed that fraud requires conscious dishonesty on the part of an identifiable individual – and inference is not enough.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th July 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com