Latest insights

Daniel Naftalin has taken up his role as Mishcon de Reya’s new Managing Partner. Daniel was elected by partners earlier this year and takes over today from outgoing Managing Partner James Libson following a transition period.

The TCC held that a tenant could not rely on frustration to escape a 25-year lease, despite life-critical cladding defects requiring remediation likely to outlast the remaining term.

AI has transformed how content is produced, consumed and verified. Reputation is no longer shaped primarily by news articles or social media posts. AI-powered search increasingly shapes reputation through AI-generated summaries – not a list of links, but responses that distil vast amounts of information into what appears to be an authoritative answer.

In a significant decision for holders of D&O insurance, in Liberty Managing Agency Ltd & Ors v Chedid & Anr [2026] EWHC 2354 (Comm) the English Commercial Court rejected arguments that an insurer could avoid providing cover for defence costs under a D&O policy before fraud was established.

The FCA's new rules and guidance on non-financial misconduct (that is, behaviour that is not of a clearly financial nature, such as bullying, harassment and violence) came into force on 1 September 2026.

On 5 August 2026, the OfS published amendments to its guidance on the regulation of freedom of speech and academic freedom (Regulatory Advice 24). The revisions were a direct response to the High Court's judgment in R (University of Sussex) v Office for Students, handed down on 29 April 2026, which quashed the OfS's decision to fine the University £585,000 for breaching its freedom of speech and governance conditions of registration.