News & Events

The Dekagram: 12th May 2025

This week Thomas Yarrow revisits the vexed question of the use of artificial intelligence in legal research – and our intrepid reporter finds that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. In fact the experience led him to such depths of despair that he…

The Dekagram: 6th May 2025

This week Ben Rodgers relays two tales from the coalface, both relating to applications to resile from admissions. Readers will be interested to know that in both cases the court applied the balance of prejudice test with the result that the defendants’ applications were refused….

The Dekagram: 28th April 2025

This week Conor Kennedy considers a novel point of construction in relation to challenging service of claim forms; the headline is that defendants must take steps to mount a jurisdictional challenge within the tight deadlines provided for in the CPR, but Conor asks whether this…

Multi-million pound settlement in horrific industrial accident

Laura Johnson KC and James Byrne have secured a multi-million pound settlement for a young woman who suffered horrifying avulsion injuries including the total loss of her scalp and right ear when her ponytail became trapped in factory drill. This was a highly unusual and…

The Dekagram: 22nd April 2025

We hope our readers enjoyed the long Easter weekend and grasped the opportunity, as we did, to spend a restful few days away from the coalface. We kept one eye on the courts though, and it’s just as well we did, because last week brought…

Clarity on Intermediaries in Family Law Proceedings

On 10 April 2025, the Court of Appeal handed down Judgment in Re M (A Child) [2025] EWCA Civ 440, providing long awaited guidance for deciding whether and when to grant intermediary assistance to vulnerable parties in family proceedings. An intermediary is someone whose function…

The Dekagram: 14th April 2025

This week the government announced a further consultation on proposed amendments to the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018; Anirudh Mandagere considers the proposals in detail and provides a link for the use of those who wish to respond to them. Alternatively, you…

The High Court handed down its judgment in Butler v Ward [2025] EWHC 877 (KB) yesterday, striking out £2.5million of the Claimant’s Schedule of Loss. Francesca O’Neill represented the Defendant surgeon (instructed by DWF LLP).  The Judgment also raises interesting questions about when summary judgment applications…

Deka members recognised for their exceptional advocacy work

Five members of Deka have been included in the latest rankings published by the Lexology Index. This index features the leading barristers and solicitors at the UK Bar who stand out for their exceptional advocacy work across an array of practice areas. Within Aviation &…

Removal of detainees’ clothing in police custody – Carter v Chief Constable of Essex Police

The judgment of the Court of Appeal has been handed down today dismissing an appeal by Mr Matthew Carter. The court’s judgment has the neutral citation number [2025] EWCA Civ 367. The claimant was arrested on December 14th 2017 following an altercation in a pub…

Pro Bono Recognition List 2025

We are delighted for 6 of our members to be included within the Recognition List 2025, for undertaking 25 hours or more pro bono work over the last year.

The Dekagram: 7 April 2025

Last month saw an additional twist in the litigation currently under way in the English courts between pilots and their employers resulting from what the pilots claim to have been exposure to toxic fumes in aircraft cockpits. The trial in the case is expected to…