Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 14 AUGUST 2026

Lammy’s Band Aid — Swift Courts, Curtailed Juries

PCB Byrne
PCB Byrne
Contributor
PCB Byrne

PCB Byrne

PCB Byrne is a leading specialist law firm for high value, complex and international disputes. We...

View firm profile
Explore more from PCB Byrne

In recent days, the legal community and broader public have been closely following Justice Secretary David Lammy's proposals to reform jury trials in England and Wales. After initial reports suggesting a dramatic reduction in jury trials, Lammy has now unveiled a more measured but still significant "Swift Courts" plan that will fundamentally alter access to jury trials for many defendants.

United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
PCB Byrne
PCB Byrne

In recent days, the legal community and broader public have been closely following Justice Secretary David Lammy's proposals to reform jury trials in England and Wales. After initial reports suggesting a dramatic reduction in jury trials, Lammy has now unveiled a more measured but still significant "Swift Courts" plan that will fundamentally alter access to jury trials for many defendants.

The New Reforms: Scaled Back Yet Still Substantial

David Lammy has announced that jury trials will be scrapped for cases where sentences are likely to be less than three years. While this represents a step back from earlier proposals that would have eliminated most jury trials entirely, the changes remain a significant departure from centuries of legal tradition.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

View source

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

Game Developer And Publisher Battle Over Step In Rights

A High Court ruling examines a contentious dispute between a video game developer and publisher over milestone-based funding and "step in" rights for the first-person shooter Six Days in Fallujah. With over $50 million in development costs at stake and allegations of conspiracy to acquire proprietary source code, the court declined to grant either party interim control of the game's development, leaving both sides without the "keys to the kingdom" pending a full trial.
United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Lewis Silkin
Lewis Silkin
Article

Meta's $18 Billion Settlement: Reckoning Or Managed Exit?

Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years to settle claims by 52 US state and territory attorneys general in the largest state consumer-protection settlement in American history outside tobacco. The settlement imposes binding child-safety obligations including time limits and age assurance, but leaves the core algorithmic feed unchanged and raises questions about whether this represents genuine accountability or a commercially managed outcome.
United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Mishcon de Reya LLP
Mishcon de Reya LLP
Article

LNG Charterparty Hire Formula: Meaning Of JKM–TTF Pricing Spread

The Commercial Court ruled on a USD 29 million dispute over an LNG carrier charterparty's index-linked pricing formula, determining whether the "JKM-TTF spread" operated bidirectionally or only when JKM exceeded TTF. The decision examines how unprecedented market conditions—where European gas prices surged above Asian prices due to the Ukraine war—tested the contractual formula's application and whether rectification could remedy an alleged drafting oversight.
European UnionLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
CMS Wistrand
CMS Wistrand
Video

One-Punch Manslaughter – When A Single Blow Kills (Video)

A split-second decision can change lives forever. In one-punch manslaughter cases, a single impulsive blow, perhaps thrown in anger, fear or misguided bravado, leads to a tragic death. These ‘death by a single punch’ incidents are more common in the UK than many realise. Dozens of families every year are left devastated, with one family grieving an unimaginable loss, and another family shocked and fearful as their loved one faces a homicide investigation for an outcome no one intended. It’s a tragic reality, one moment of anger, one fatal assault involving a single blow, and two lives (and families) ruined.
United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Olliers Solicitors
Olliers Solicitors
Article

Court Of Appeal Confirms There Is No Gateway For Serving A Stand-alone Freezing Order Applications On Overseas Chabra Respondents

The Court of Appeal has ruled on a critical jurisdictional question affecting civil fraud and asset recovery practitioners: whether judgment creditors can serve stand-alone worldwide freezing orders on third parties abroad under section 37(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981. In Gilbert v Broadoak Private Finance Ltd, the court examined the scope of jurisdictional gateways and their application to Chabra respondents located overseas, with significant implications for cross-border enforcement proceedings.
United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
PCB Byrne
PCB Byrne
Article

“It Offends Justice”: Court Of Appeal Confirms ‘Privilege Hunting’ Is An Abuse Of Process And Discharges Freezing Orders

The Court of Appeal has delivered a landmark ruling on abuse of process, upholding findings that claimants engaged in unlawful conduct by covertly obtaining privileged litigation material from the defendants' solicitor through deception. The judgment addresses whether such conduct warrants striking out applications and discharging freezing orders worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a complex fraud case involving stock lending transactions.
United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
PCB Byrne
PCB Byrne
Article

High Court Awards Robert Gagliardi US$5.385 Million In Damages For ECM’s Failure To Pay Discretionary Bonus

Following a three-and-a-half-week trial, the High Court has ruled in favour of Mr. Gagliardi in a comprehensive 154-page judgment in Robert Gagliardi v Evolution Capital Management LLC [2025] EWHC 3214 (Comm). Mr. Justice Calver found that Mr. Gagliardi was contractually entitled to a $5.385 million discretionary bonus for his hugely profitable trading in 2021, which Evolution Capital Management LLC (“ECM”) had unlawfully failed to pay. The Court dismissed ECM’s counterclaim in its entirety.
United KingdomEmployment and HR
PCB Byrne
PCB Byrne
Article

The BSB Have Released AI Guidance. Should The SRA Follow Suit?

The Bar Standards Board has issued comprehensive guidance on AI use by barristers, establishing clear obligations around transparency, supervision, and risk management. Just days later, a High Court judgment publicly reprimanded a major law firm for misleading the court through unchecked AI-generated content, raising urgent questions about whether the Solicitors Regulation Authority should follow suit with equivalent guidance for solicitors.
United KingdomTechnology
PCB Byrne
PCB Byrne
Article

Failure To Prevent Fraud — Legal Steps For Financial Services Firms

The corporate offence of Failure to Prevent Fraud (FtPF) in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 creates criminal liability for in scope organisations where an “associated person” (employees, agents, subsidiaries or others acting for or on behalf of the firm) commits a “specified fraud offence” intending to benefit the firm or its customers, unless the firm can demonstrate, on the balance of probabilities, that it had reasonable prevention procedures in place at the time or that it was not reasonable in all the circumstances to have any procedures.
United KingdomCriminal Law
PCB Byrne
PCB Byrne