‘The Insolvency Act 1986 provides to a trustee in bankruptcy in respect to the bankrupt estate, an armoury of potential actions. The main ones, focused on enhancing a depleted bankrupt estate, are: (a) s.339, entitled ‘Transactions at an undervalue’; (b) s.340, entitled ‘Preferences’; and (c) s.423, entitled ‘Transactions defrauding creditors’ (though note, no fraud need be shown; and this cause of action is not exclusive to trustees in bankruptcy).’

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33 Bedford Row, 11th April 2025

Source: 33bedfordrow.co.uk

‘Statistics show that over half (55%) of women prisoners are mothers and approximately 17,000 children are affected each year by maternal imprisonment. Sentencing mothers can be a complex task, so it is important that we approach the task of sentencing carefully.’

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Drystone Chambers, 14th April 2025

Source: www.drystone.com

‘The rules governing service of a Claim Form lie at the heart of civil procedure, ensuring that defendants are properly notified of proceedings and that claims progress efficiently and fairly. Yet, despite their seemingly rigid framework, disputes often arise as to the extent of a claimant’s duties when relying on a defendant’s ‘usual/last known address’ under CPR 6.9.’

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Guildhall Chambers, 14th April 2025

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

‘A roundup of football law news and decisions from March 2025’.

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Football Law, March 2025

Source: www.footballlaw.co.uk

‘The High Court has handed down a significant judgment dismissing challenges brought against the decisions of two local authorities, Devon County Council and Bristol City Council, to enter into their respective “Safety Valve Agreements” (SVAs) with the Secretary of State.’

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11 KBW, 11th April 2025

Source: www.11kbw.com

‘In a solicitor/solicitor’s client relationship, where the solicitor has undertaken work pursuant to a retainer, but the client has not paid the fees due for the services rendered, there will (amongst other things) be a creditor/debtor relationship. The solicitor will be a creditor; the client will be the debtor. Typically, the solicitor/client will, when the solicitor/client relationship was being formed, not have individually negotiated for the client to grant the solicitor, a form of security, for payment of those fees. The law however, does provide to the solicitor on a non-transactional retainer, where not excluded by terms in the retainer/other security which would be inconsistent/incompatible with its existence, various forms of security – to secure payment of his fees by the client. These take the form of 2 types of liens (discussed below) – (a) the common law General Lien; and (b) the solicitors’ Equitable Lien. This article will focus on the solicitors’ Equitable Lien (the more interesting of the two liens) – that is, a lien on the fruits of litigation to secure unpaid solicitors’ costs.’

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33 Bedford Row, 9th April 2025

Source: 33bedfordrow.co.uk

‘In discussions surrounding UK immigration law, the terms ‘deportation’ and ‘removal’ are often used interchangeably, yet each holds a distinct legal definition. This article seeks to clarify the differences between deportation and removal within the context of UK immigration law.’

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EIN Blog, 14th April 2025

Source: www.ein.org.uk

‘It is now 5 years since the UK officially left the EU, and 4 years since the full weight of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement (WA) came into effect. Its purpose is to sever the UK from the EU legal order, with its attendant rights and obligations, except for the ones specifically within the WA. Part of these rights and obligations, contained in the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol – renamed the Windsor Framework (WF) in 2023 – continue to include Northern Ireland within the Single Market for goods, as well as within the EU’s equality and non-discrimination laws as these evolve and change. The WF also provides Northern Ireland with a guarantee against diminution of the accumulated EU rights which existed just before Brexit, and which underpin the Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity (RSEO) chapter of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 (GFA), which ended the brutal Northern Ireland conflict and ushered in a new (albeit somewhat unstable) era of post-conflict devolution.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 14th April 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘Tariffs and special educational needs and disabilities law are rarely spoken about in the same breath. The mid-April, 2025 economic headwinds caused by the American government’s trade policies may exacerbate existing trends identified earlier this year which can impact on SEND. A month or so before the stock and bond market chaos caused by Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation day’ the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson counselled parents that they must ‘think very differently’ on SEND support. In a speech to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual conference Phillipson sign posted that there would likely be reforms to the 2014 Children and Families Act. She remarked “I think we need to take a step back from the system that we have right now, the system that came from the 2014 reforms, and start to think very differently about what the system will look like.”‘

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 11th April 2025

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

‘A human rights expert has described the year-long sentence given to a climate change activist as “blatantly disproportionate”.’

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BBC News, 14th April 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Construction disputes, as indeed is the case with other types of disputes, can have a heavy financial cost for both sides. ‘Victory’ can in defined circumstances take on a pyrrhic taste if the costs of the proceedings don’t go to the winning party. The March 2025 decision in Assensus is part of a sequence of important cases dealing with the issue of how costs are, or may be, treated when there has been a refusal to mediate.’

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 10th April 2025

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed a mother’s appeal against a judge’s refusal to grant her intermediary assistance in care proceedings, finding that the judge paid “insufficient attention” to the mother’s difficulties.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A mother who killed her two young sons while in a psychotic state has been jailed for life.’

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The Independent, 11th April 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘When does an individual lack mental capacity? Section 2(1) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) says ‘a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time he is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain’. And (per section 2(2)), it matters not whether the impairment or disturbance is permanent or temporary. Nevertheless, the capacity principles in section 1 of the MCA require (per section 1(2)) that a person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that he lacks capacity. Moreover (per section 1(4)): “A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision merely because he makes an unwise decision.” ‘

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th April 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Winston Jones, who for a decade was unable to return home from Jamaica, almost didn’t apply for compensation, fearing it was a trap.’

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The Guardian, 14th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A woman described as a “devoted daughter” has received a suspended prison sentence after she admitted the manslaughter of her terminally ill father.’

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BBC News, 11th April 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Bury Metropolitan Borough Council has been fined £200,000 after an employee was injured while installing the town’s 20-foot Christmas tree.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Proposals to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces have been granted royal assent after an extraordinary parliament sitting on Saturday.’

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The Gurdian, 12th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com