Switalskis welcomes 14 new trainee solicitors this month, its largest intake to date, reflecting the firm’s ongoing investment in developing talent. The cohort includes two Solicitor Apprentices, who have reached the final two years of their training and therefore moved over to the Qualifying Solicitors Programme, eight solicitor apprentices and four trainee solicitors.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has published the findings of Operation Amazon, one of several investigations to examine how South Yorkshire Police responded to reports of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 2000 and 2012.

In September 2025, NHS England launched a new patient safety guideline called Jess’s Rule, designed to help catch serious illnesses such as cancer sooner and reduce the risk of misdiagnosis.

As a property developer, being aware of restrictive covenants and how they can affect your ability to develop a new residential site can be crucial. Restrictive covenants can render a development unviable, even where planning permission has been granted. In this blog, we look at what a restrictive covenant is, how they can affect a new build development and how problematic covenants can be dealt with at the outset to ensure a smooth development.

If you’ve just binged Season 2 of Wednesday, you’ll know it’s not just the monsters that are scary, it’s the estate planning. In one eerie scene, the headmaster attempts to manipulate Grandma Addams into leaving her fortune to the school and him instead of her family. In this blog, Kelsey Jones discusses the real life issues that can arise from undue influence.

‘Contentious probate’ refers to a range of issues and disputes that may arise after someone dies. These commonly involve disagreements among family members, beneficiaries or other interested parties about who should inherit and how the estate should be distributed. If someone disputes the validity or contents of a person’s will, or challenges the administration of the deceased’s estate, they may require a contentious probate solicitor to help them.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows an individual (known as the donor) to appoint one or more people (known as attorneys) to make decisions on their behalf. It is designed for situations where the donor loses the mental capacity to manage their own financial affairs or healthcare decisions, although it may apply in some cases where the person still has this capacity.

A recent BBC article has highlighted concerns raised by the Royal College of Radiologists about the postcode lottery associated with cancer treatment.