PI & Clinical Negligence analysis: In a personal injury claim, the court was faced with an application by the claimant to rely on a covert recording of the neuropsychological testing administered by the defendant’s expert and a subsequent report produced by the claimant’s expert critiquing the defendant’s expert’s approach. After considering the relevant legal principles, including the earlier case of Mustard v Flower & Ord as well as the factual issues weighing on either side of the balance in the present case, His Honour Judge Shanks (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) decided to admit the evidence. This case is therefore a further endorsement, albeit somewhat reluctantly, of covert recordings of medical expert assessments, which is now becoming common practice in personal injury litigation. Written by Peter Hale, barrister at 12 King's Bench Walk

Family analysis: In His Majesty’s Solicitor General v Wong, Mr Justice Cobb considered an application made by His Majesty's Solicitor General seeking the committal of the defendant for contempt of court. It was alleged that the defendant had made a covert audio recording of a court hearing in adoption proceedings in the Family Court, which he then gave (with associated documents) to another individual, intending to publish them on YouTube. Caroline Korah, partner at Vardags, and Jemima Kearney, solicitor at Vardags, examine the issues.

Local Government analysis: This Court of Appeal decision reviews the scope of an exemption from mandatory House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004). The appellant, Housing 35 Plus Limited (H35), argued that its properties were exempt from HMO licensing on the basis that it is a co‑operative society whose rules required all management decisions to be made by members at general meetings, in line with the exemption contained in paragraph 2B of Schedule 14 to HA 2004. Under HA 2004, properties meeting the definition of HMOs must be licensed unless an exemption applies. The exemption introduced in 2012 applies to buildings managed or controlled by a co‑operative society, provided that the society’s rules ensure all management decisions are made by members at a general meeting. Nottingham City Council disputed that H35’s rules met these requirements and issued two financial penalties of £15,000 each for operating unlicensed HMOs. The Court of Appeal was asked to determine whether H35’s rules satisfied the statutory exemption. The court unanimously dismissed the appeal. Written by Clive Adams, partner, and Zach Plunkett, graduate solicitor Apprentice at Birketts LLP.

Dispute Resolution analysis: This case involved an impecunious Liberian claimant. The court accepted that the claimant was resident outside of the jurisdiction and there was reason to believe that it would be unable to pay the defendant’s costs if ordered to do so. When considering whether it would be just to make an order for security, the court applied the Crabtree principle. It was held that that the overall action would look very similar if it had been brought by the defendant instead of the claimant. As such, it was not just to make the order for security. Written by Alex Bagnall, Technical Manager at Total Legal Solutions.

This Practice Note provides a consolidated list of Crafty Counsel videos that are available within Lexis+® In-house Advisor. Further videos are available on the Crafty Counsel website. New to role Video Mini-summary Crafty Counsel video: Your first 100 days as General Counsel—carving out the General Counsel's role In this bite-sized video, produced by Crafty Counsel and first posted on 08.10.2019, Emma Jelley, a coach and former General Counsel (GC), Alexis Alexander of Liberis, and Xavier Langlois, an experienced General Counsel, discuss how General Counsel should carve out the responsibility for their function—including what the Legal team is not for. The team also discuss 'hot potatoes' that often end up with legal, such as data protection, information security and employment. Crafty Counsel video: What makes a great in-house leader? In this bite-sized video, produced by Crafty Counsel and first posted on 23.02.23, Nilema Bhakta Jones, Group General Counsel at the Kantar Group, discusses what qualities she believes makes a great in-house leader. Crafty Counsel video: Lawyer of the future In this bite-sized video, produced by Crafty Counsel and first posted on

The imposition of a plan or restructuring on a dissenting group of creditors/stakeholders.

date Parties 1 FROM: [name of Licensor] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Licensor) 2 TO: [name of Licensee] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Licensee) Interpretation: In this licence, references to: [‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my' OR ‘We’, ‘us’ and ‘our’] are to the Licensor; ‘You’ and ‘your’ are to the Licensee. Re: Licence to use airspace at [address of Licensor’s property] (the 'Property') In consideration of £[amount] plus VAT (the 'Fee'),

Crane oversail licence Permitting a tower crane to be used in relation to the Works at [insert] This Deed is made on [date] Parties 1 [insert name of adjoining owner] (company registration number [insert]) whose registered office is at [insert] ('Adjoining Owner'); 2 [[insert name of adjoining tenant] (company registration number [insert]) whose registered office is at [insert] ('Adjoining Tenant')] 3 [insert name of contractor] (company registration number [insert]) whose registered office is at [insert] (‘Contractor'); and 4 [insert name of developer] (company registration number [insert]) whose registered office is at [insert] ('Developer'). Recitals (A) The Developer has engaged the Contractor to carry out the Works at the Site. (B) The Adjoining Owner is the registered proprietor of the Adjoining Property[ and the Adjoining tenant is tenant of the Adjoining Property under a lease granted by the Adjoining Owner]. (C) In connection with the Works the Contractor proposes to erect, operate, maintain and dismantle the Crane on the Site. (D) The Adjoining Owner [and the Adjoining Tenant] has agreed, on the terms and subject to the conditions set out in this Agreement, to authorise the Contractor to erect and operate the Crane so

Law360: Plane crashes and collisions accounted for almost two thirds of the aviation insurance claims valued at US$15bn in the last five years, according to a report by German insurer Allianz SE published 31 July 2024.

The statement of the precise order sought in civil proceedings in the sheriff court.

This Practice Note provides guidance on how to create a compelling strategy and align it with overall business strategy, vision and culture. It covers who should be involved, the tools to use and what the outcomes might look like. What is legal strategy and why does it matter? It is important for the in-house legal team to have a forward-looking plan that aligns legal resources, capabilities and activities with the broader business strategy. Having a strategy for the in-house legal team is distinct from legal operations (how legal work is delivered), risk management (identifying and mitigating legal risks), and compliance (ensuring adherence to laws and regulations) but will take in, and impact on, those functions of the legal team. There are three key elements which give context to the need for a strategic approach to the management of in-house teams: • business decisions are usually made today on a sophisticated analysis of metrics—financial, risk, market, and trends—very little of which exists to justify the value of legal services. There is therefore a genuinely

Property Analysis: A new statutory register for contractual control agreements is set to be introduced. With the regulations due to take effect in April 2027 (and capturing agreements exchanged well before then) developers, promoters and investors need to prepare now. The shift promises greater transparency, but also potential for sharper competition and higher stakes for those securing sites. Written by Michael Callaghan, Thomas Hall and James Needham of Shoosmiths.