Matilda Battersby is a freelance journalist and editor, and a senior reporter at the Today’s Media titles. She worked at The Independent newspaper for many years, but has also worked at The Times, Evening Standard, Telegraph and I newspapers since going freelance in 2015. Her specialisms are property and books, having worked extensively for various trade property magazines and The Bookseller magazine. She is based in East London.
The Law Society of England and Wales has warned about the potential for “misleading documents” in its response to the Civil Justice Council’s report on preparing court documents with AI. Brett Dixon, Law Society president,
The number of law firms in the wills market in England and Wales has decreased 12% in four years. Almost 600 law firms left the wills market between 2022 and 2026, according to the IRN
A woman who provided round-the-clock care for her elderly mother will be compensated £127,500 from the family estate, a High Court judge has concluded. Former auxiliary nurse, Bernadette Rogers, cared for her mother, who had
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) says the number of firms found to be non-compliant over anti-money laundering (AML) fell almost 10% this year. The independent regulatory body for solicitors found 78% of firms were either
New guidance on artificial intelligence (AI) published by the Law Society of England and Wales makes it clear that these tools are not a legal entity and responsibility remains human. A new Law Society practice
More than a third (37%) of brokers expect later life lending inquiries to rise in the rest of the year after lending hit £1.71bn in the first half of the year, new analysis suggests. Equity
The Law Society is calling for the UK government, regulators and local authorities to take action to support small firms and sole practitioners, warning that pressures on recruitment and burdensome regulation threaten their existence. Research
The High Court has rejected a husband’s claim that his interests in family trusts worth billions of pounds shouldn’t be treated as matrimonial assets. In a divorce case TP v TF [2026] EWFC 210, which
The new president of the Law Society of England and Wales has vowed to “champion a criminal justice system that is fit for the future”. Brett Dixon became the 182nd president, replacing outgoing president Mark
The Justice Committee has welcomed the government’s decision to roll back on jury reforms, but has issued new warnings over the burden being placed on magistrates’ courts, saying planned recruitment of magistrates is “unrealistic”. Last
Two brothers are fighting over their father’s £400,000 estate after a new will was written three months before his death, removing the elder brother as a beneficiary, with the younger brother accused of financial abuse.
The use of trusts for life protection policies has nearly tripled in five years as more people try to prevent funds from being inaccessible during probate, new research reveals. Almost three times as many protection
The government has mostly scaled back its plans to scrap juries for some criminal trials, with the Lord Chancellor responding to the “strength of feeling” on the issue. In December 2025 the then-deputy prime minister
A High Court judge has removed a life trust from a will after deciding the estate-holder didn’t have a “fundamental change in the gift” explained to him properly by the solicitor who drew it up.
New research from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) suggests that families managing a loved one’s money may be committing financial abuse without realising it. Findings from the latest STEP Barometer suggests that
The daughter of an explorer killed in a mountain avalanche eight years ago has taken a dispute over his £10m estate to the High Court in a bid to remove his wife as executor and
The chair of the Legal Services Board (LSB), Monisha Shah, has warned regulators to “identify emerging risks before they become system challenges” and protect consumers while supporting innovation. In her opening remarks at the International
The average retiree gives £4,522 a year to relatives in gifts and for children’s education, even though concerns about their own finances remain high, new research suggests. Retirees now spend one in every six pounds
The Law Society of England and Wales has welcomed the government’s new anti-money laundering and recovery strategy, but has warned about the potential for “increased burden” and duplication of work for solicitors and firms. The
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is urging all charity trustees and professional advisers to check new rules for accounting that apply from this year. Changes to the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has fined a solicitor more than £20,000 for “a reckless disregard to the risk of harm and his regulatory obligations” over five years. Bryn Roberts, a sole practitioner at Evan
Almost a third of people without a will believe they have nothing worth leaving behind, new research reveals. A national poll of almost 2,000 respondents commissioned by the charity Will Aid suggests 67% of adults
The incoming Law Society president has called for greater openness around disability in the legal sector. Brett Dixon, who will take up the post from October 2026, said improving disability inclusion is one of the
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has provisionally struck off the director of a financial services business after he was found to have “recklessly” provided pension transfer advice he was unqualified to give. The FCA has
The Law Society of England and Wales has warned that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) complaints handling proposals could “increase administrative burden without delivering clear benefits for consumers”. The SRA recently consulted for a second
Adult children living at home could cost their parents a combined £17 billion if they don’t pay rent, Key Equity Release estimates. Rising numbers of adult children living with their parents in the UK are
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned that grieving families could be hit with up to £3,200 in fines due to “misunderstandings” in understanding their tax obligations. HMRC is issuing an educational letter as a
The Law Society has raised “serious concerns” over proposed changes to fees for the Legal Ombudsman. The 12 week consultation period on The Office for Legal Complaints’s (OLC) proposed changes to the Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO)
New research shows that 94% of lawyers use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for legal work, with 74% using it at least once a week and 34% using it every day. One in 10 (10%) of the
A former director of Axiom Ince has been struck off and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs for amending an invoice to give “the misleading impression” of a discount. Toby Richard Matthews admitted to dishonestly
Women are four times less likely to get help with the admin of death, with newly published research showing men were four times more likely than women to pay a professional to handle estate admin.
Nearly a quarter of the population of England and Wales lives in an area classed as a ‘legal aid desert’, new research reveals. Analysis of local authority data by LexisNexis suggests that 14.49 million people,