If the true intentions of the person making a will are not contained within their will, it may be possible to contest a will on the grounds of fraud. Fraud is defined in criminal law as being “an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual”.

Section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (the “Act”) formalises the procedure for transferring ownership of land. It provides that an agreement for the sale of land can only be made in writing and must be signed by or on behalf of each party.

In case some readers think the answer to the above question is a matter of dry academic law with no practical relevance, some £10 million turned, at least in part, on the distinction between those phrases in the case of Anchor 2020 Ltd v Midas Construction Ltd.

Some years ago, the law made it more difficult for freeholders to apply for forfeiture of leases. The Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Act 2002 placed a hurdle in the way of landlords seeking forfeiture due to breaches of the lease.

The Supreme Court has, in June 2020, given judgment on a landmark case which sets out the current state of the law relating to the availability or otherwise of adjudication as a means of dispute resolution when one of the parties is in insolvent liquidation.

Legal judgments are often complex and filled with archaic language, making them difficult for non-lawyers to understand. In a 2015 article, the idea of adding a plain English summary to court judgments was proposed to bridge this gap. Today, with the rise of AI, this concept is more achievable than ever. AI could generate layman-friendly summaries, which judges could then review and approve - enhancing accessibility and public understanding of the law.

In English law, to make a valid will, a testator must have their signature to it witnessed by two adult independent witnesses. The current social distancing measures together with self-isolation to protect the particularly elderly and vulnerable, therefore present a challenge for private client practitioners: how do we ensure that wills are valid when we can’t stand within 2 metres of one another?

Following the Supreme Court decision in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (2015) the law relating to informed consent has been redefined. Before the change, it was down to the clinician to decide how much information to give a patient (providing that decision would be considered reasonable by a responsible body of medical opinion, the Bolam test). Post Montgomery, clinicians must ensure that their patient is fully informed about any potential risks to the proposed treatment, and of any alternative treatment options.

A recent case about invasive Japanese knotweed has changed the way in which alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is handled. Following the case, relevant parts of the law that previous only allowed courts to encourage ADR have been formally amended, and from October 2024 judges will be able to stop court proceedings and compel parties to engage in ADR.

Considerable column inches have already been devoted to the introduction of The Renters (Reform) Bill with many commentators lamenting that it will hasten the demise of the private landlord. Hailed as the biggest overhaul of residential tenancy law for over thirty years, it seeks to address perceived inequalities in the landlord/tenant relationship.