UK Legal Blogs & Industry Insights

Explore expert articles, news, and resources from across the UK legal industry. Our blogs are designed to keep you informed in your specialist areas of law and job roles.

Top of the Blogs Family Law

Cansford Labs – Live Q+A panel 

You are invited to join Cansford Labs for a live Q&A in September with their Head of Lab Operations James Nutt and Deputy Lab Manager Abbi Holloway. This is your opportunity to ask them any questions about the science of sample testing and detection windows.

When Your Adversary Triggers You

When opposing counsel sends that infuriating email or makes a snide remark that sets your nerves on fire, it’s easy to react. But what if those triggering moments were actually a hidden gift? In When Your Adversary Triggers You: The Hidden Gift in Hostile Negotiations, we explore how the “mirror principle” reveals that the traits we find most aggravating in others often reflect parts of ourselves. By reframing emotional triggers through the lens of curiosity—asking “What a gift. Why is this in my movie?”—we shift from reactivity to self-awareness. This subtle mindset change transforms conflict into clarity, enabling you to maintain composure, negotiate strategically, and turn even hostility into professional growth.

Subject Access Requests and a ‘Reasonable and Proportionate Search’

Subject access requests are rising, often creating significant time and cost burdens. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 allows only a “reasonable and proportionate search” for personal data, but recent cases, including Ashley v HMRC (2025), show that the effort involved in reviewing and redacting data can also be considered disproportionate. Organisations may therefore argue that both the search and the review/redaction process are unreasonable when compliance would be excessively burdensome.

Managed IT support: can you trust your provider?

Outsourcing IT to a managed service provider (MSP) means entrusting them with your data, systems, and business continuity. But can you truly trust your provider? Recent breaches at Jaguar Land Rover and Marks & Spencer highlight how vulnerabilities within MSPs can disrupt entire organisations.

Trust depends on transparency, accountability, and compliance with recognised standards like ISO 27001 or the ScotlandIS ITMSP Best Practice Charter.

At Net-Defence, we prioritise security, proactive monitoring, and tailored support. Our commitment to best practice ensures clients’ systems remain protected, compliant, and resilient.

If you’re unsure whether your current MSP meets these standards, now is the time to re-evaluate who you trust with your IT infrastructure.

Addressing time limits at preliminary hearings: Mesuria v Eurofins Forensic Services Ltd [2025] EAT 103

In Mesuria v Eurofins Forensics Services Ltd [2025] EAT 103, the EAT held that tribunals must clearly distinguish between determining a preliminary issue and striking out a claim. The Employment Judge failed to specify which approach applied when addressing time-limit and merits issues, leading to procedural unfairness. The appeal succeeded, and the case was remitted. The decision highlights the need for precise directions at preliminary hearings, especially where litigants in person are involved, to ensure fairness and prevent tribunals from exceeding their remit.

The Hidden Toll: Why family lawyers face mental health challenges other solicitors don’t – and what you can actually do about it

Family law demands more than legal expertise. It requires emotional endurance. Every case carries heartbreak, trauma, and human pain that most solicitors never face. Over time, this emotional exposure can erode resilience, leading to burnout, compassion fatigue, and even physical health issues. But with the right psychological tools, family lawyers can protect their wellbeing while continuing to help clients through their darkest moments.

Commercial Agents Case and Statute Citator 2025

The Commercial Agents: Case and Statute Citator 2025 summarises UK laws governing self-employed commercial agents under the 1993 Regulations. It explains key duties, rights to commission, and rules on termination and compensation. The guide includes leading cases such as Lonsdale v Howard & Hallam Ltd (2007) and remains an essential resource for understanding commercial agency law in Great Britain.

Whose Money Is It Anyway?” – The Supreme Court Gets Serious About Source

In Standish v Standish [2025] UKSC 26, the Supreme Court has offered timely and much-needed clarification on the operation of the sharing principle in financial remedy cases, particularly in relation to the matrimonialisation of non-matrimonial property. For practitioners, this is now essential reading. The case centred around the husband’s transfer of £77.8 million to the […]

Shareholder Protection from Unfair Prejudice Case and Statute Citator 2025

This guide explains how section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 allows shareholders to seek court relief where a company’s affairs are conducted unfairly prejudicially to their interests. Such disputes often occur in small private companies where shareholders are also directors. Common issues include exclusion from management, misuse of funds, or breaches of directors’ duties.

The court has wide powers under section 996, most often ordering a fair-value share buyout. “Unfair prejudice” is judged objectively — the conduct must be both unfair and damaging to a shareholder’s interests. The concept is especially relevant in “quasi-partnership” companies built on trust and mutual participation.

The citator compiles key cases and statutes, outlining procedure, remedies, and judicial interpretation, making it a practical reference for lawyers handling shareholder disputes and unfair prejudice claims.

Tackling amendment applications: lessons for practitioners

In CX v Ministry of Justice, the EAT upheld the Tribunal’s refusal to allow a late amendment adding disability discrimination claims, finding it would introduce entirely new issues and expand the case significantly. The decision reinforces that amendment applications must be judged by their practical impact, timing, and potential prejudice, not just legal form. Practitioners are reminded to plead clearly, act promptly on new evidence, and prepare detailed arguments on the necessity and consequences of proposed amendments.

Release of Information to the Police

This guidance explains when and how to share information with the police. Disclosure is allowed in emergencies, when required by law, or in the public interest. In all other cases, a properly completed Schedule 2 Data Protection Act form must be provided. All disclosures must be documented and limited to necessary, specific information.

How AI Could Rewrite Homelessness Law

AI is reshaping homelessness law, but at a risk. As councils use algorithms to manage cases, transparency and fairness could be lost. Without safeguards, bias and unaccountability may turn vital reviews into empty formalities. Used responsibly, however, AI could strengthen — not weaken — protections for the most vulnerable.

Barton – res gestae gone rogue?

The High Court’s judgment in DPP v Barton [2024] clarifies the prosecution’s discretion to rely on res gestae evidence in domestic abuse cases, even when the complainant does not testify, highlighting the balance between fairness and effective prosecution.

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