Legal accounts controversy: Who should fund the broken justice system? January 22, 2026 First, the government tried to go after the LLPs, but that failed. Now its eyes are on law firms’ client accounts under the narrative that it will be used to help the crumbling justice system, but lawyers are seeing it as just another tax raid. Law firms earn substantial income from interest on client accounts, [...]
Scrapping jury trials will only have ‘modest’ impact on backlog January 22, 2026 David Lammy’s controversial plan to restrict jury trials will unlock only “relatively modest reductions in demand given the scale of institutional upheaval”, according to a new report by the Institute for Government (IFG). The government’s plans, which leaked in November, revealed a move to scrap some jury trials to tackle the nearly 80,000 criminal case [...]
High Court to hear Reform’s challenge on cancelled council elections January 21, 2026 Reform UK’s legal challenge against the UK government over plans to delay local elections is set to go to a two-day trial next month. The case focuses on the government’s plan to allow 63 councils to postpone their local elections that were scheduled for May 2026. So far, more than a third of local authorities [...]
David Lammy’s plan to seize law firm interest sparks outrage January 20, 2026 Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy was accused of a “brazen attempt” to “confiscate law firms’ cash” after the government revealed plans to take the interest law firms earn on money sitting in their client accounts. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Justice opened a consultation on a proposal to introduce an Interest on [...]
High Court showdown over alleged ‘procedural irrationality’ in Gatwick runway £2.2bn approval January 20, 2026 The Secretary of State has been accused of reaching “inherently contradictory and irrational” conclusions by finding Gatwick’s second runway would have a “significant adverse effect” on the climate, the High Court heard this morning. The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, greenlit plans for Gatwick Airport’s second runway, the Northern Runway, in September. This was “the largest [...]
Gatwick’s £2.2bn second runway to be challenged in court January 19, 2026 Gatwick Airport’s £2.2bn second runway will be the focus of a legal challenge at the High Court on Tuesday, as an environmental group opposes the government’s decision to grant the approval. In September, Gatwick Airport’s second runway, the Northern Runway, received development consent from the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander. Gatwick has had a northern runway [...]
Judge refuses BHP permission to appeal landmark case January 19, 2026 The High Court has refused mining giant BHP permission to appeal a ruling that found it liable for a dam disaster under both environmental law and the Brazilian civil code. The Melbourne-HQ’d group was sued in London over a deadly dam disaster in Brazil in 2015. Law firm Pogust Goodhead launched a group lawsuit in [...]
Big Technologies soars after £39m settlement with former shareholders January 19, 2026 Big Technologies shares soared on Monday after the London-listed tech firm reached a £38.5m settlement following legal action from former shareholders. The shareholders alleged they were unfairly forced to sell down their stakes in the company in 2018 prior to the firm’s IPO. The action triggered an investigation by Big’s board which led to the [...]
Tough year ahead as businesses face compliance and investigation storm January 17, 2026 A wave of complex regulations and cross-border probes is set to test the resilience of businesses worldwide in the coming year; at the same time, resource constraints expose vulnerabilities. A staggering 82 per cent of global businesses fear being hit by cross-border or multi-agency investigations this year, according to a new report by law firm [...]
Musk-Altman rift widens as judge approves court battle January 16, 2026 OpenAI and Microsoft have lost their final bid to avoid a courtroom battle with Elon Musk, with a US judge ruling that the Tesla and xAI founder can proceed to trial over claims that the start-up breached its original charitable mission. The case, set for a jury trial in late April at the District Court [...]