We have had a request from Jan Luba QC and HHJ Madge who, as I’m sure you all know, edit the ‘recent developments in housing law’ updates in Legal Action each month. They are looking for feedback on the updates, so we are happy to help with a guest post…
This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first of our Recent Developments in Housing Law articles in Legal Action.
We know that many housing practitioners read Recent Developments and we are extremely grateful to those who write to us with notes, transcripts etc, but apart from one evaluation exercise a few years ago, and chats with friends, we get little feedback.
We would like to know how Recent Developments could be improved. For example:
1. Is it too long, too short or about right? Should we be more selective about what we include? Do you give up reading it before you get to the end? Should there be an upper limit to the number of pages?
2. Is the balance between “Politics and Legislation” and the case summaries about right, or are we devoting too much space to one or the other?
3. Are there areas of housing law which we are wrongly ignoring, or which we could omit?
4. We have been including case summaries of decisions that cannot be cited as formal precedents (applications for permission to appeal, refusals of permission to claim judicial review, decisions of county court district judges, etc). We have done so because we believe they help indicate current practice. Should we exclude them or continue to include them?
5. We both make back issues of Recent Developments available on our personal web sites (www.nicmadge.co.uk and at Garden Court resources) a month or so after Legal Action is published, but we both feel that it would be helpful if Legal Action were able to provide an electronic housing law package. Do you agree? Would you (or your employer) be prepared to pay a reasonable sum for such a service?
It would be really helpful to hear from you, either by comments here on Nearly Legal or in personal email to us c/o nic@nicmadge.co.uk (even if it is only to say, “it is about right as it is”.)
Nic Madge and Jan Luba
[From NL -I will also be happy to pass on any emails sent to the usual address (contact at nearlylegal.co.uk). The monthly housing law updates are important for anyone involved in housing law, so please do pass on your views in the comments here or by email.]