Maria Shahid
FeaturePlace makers
Our changing retail habits have disfigured the UK’s high streets. But planners are fighting back, which is reflected in creative instructions for property lawyers. Maria Shahid reports.
FeatureLondon in the stocks
London’s stock exchange was once the epicentre of City life. Now lawyers report a ‘malaise’ that is hard to shake, reports Maria Shahid. Will a much-heralded overhaul of the listing rules bring back the good times?
FeatureKeeping house
Solicitors and law firms continue to quit conveyancing. So what reforms of the home buying and selling process would persuade them to stay?
FeatureBuilding better
Economic and ecological challenges have combined to focus attention on the perceived shortcomings of 70-year-old landlord and tenant legislation. Maria Shahid reports on how this is affecting the commercial property market and the litigators who work in it.
FeatureThe longest journey
Far more women than men are entering the legal profession – but many struggle to move up its ranks. Structural reform is needed, hears Maria Shahid.
FeaturePaper trials: Conveyancing and the Building Safety Act
Solicitors are turning down leasehold instructions, blaming unacceptable professional risks. New Law Society guidance will help but fresh legislation is still needed, hears Maria Shahid.
FeatureHome truths
Insecure tenancies and poor living conditions have pushed the plight of the UK’s growing army of renters up the political agenda. But in England ministers continue to fudge and prevaricate on much-needed reform, reports Maria Shahid.
FeatureClean up your own backyard
Planning reform is high on the agenda of both main parties, reports Maria Shahid. But endless rounds of consultation, and pledges that are long on aspiration but short on delivery give cause for scepticism.
FeatureSunset clauses
Rishi Sunak’s policy shifts on the environment seem destined for the courts. Meanwhile, lawyers are aiming to make every contract a ‘climate contract’, reports Maria Shahid.
FeatureDo you know your practice?
The professional indemnity market for solicitors is being shaped by concerns over conveyancing, financial stability and a regulatory focus on wellbeing. Fortunately there is greater stability in prospect.
FeatureHow to: Plan for retirement
When it comes to hanging up their PC after decades of grafting for clients, many lawyers are surprisingly ill-prepared. Maria Shahid looks at the dos and don’ts of ‘lexit’.
FeatureTaking on tech
With its remit greatly expanded by Brexit, is the Competition and Markets Authority up to the job? Maria Shahid reports.
FeatureCentre stage
Lawmakers play political football with planning law. There is a danger that the results in our town and city centres will increasingly reflect this brinkmanship, writes Maria Shahid.
FeatureMoving on up
Most solicitors are women. So when it comes to career progression to senior positions, Maria Shahid asks, why is it still a man’s world?
FeatureBuild back better
From net zero developments to green leases, ‘ESG’ has become part of the lexicon of the commercial property lawyer. Maria Shahid reports.
FeatureNot going to plan
Legal advisers are keen to help clients benefit from the government’s ‘levelling up agenda’, hears Maria Shahid. But political uncertainty is the enemy of investment.
FeatureShaking the foundations
Commercial property values have dipped as interest rates have risen and lenders retreat. But a ‘wall of capital’ from overseas is offering limited respite, the sector’s lawyers tell Maria Shahid.
FeaturePII: a change in the weather
Long Read: Premiums are still going up, but the professional indemnity insurance market is softening at last.