Maria Shahid

London

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Features Writer at The Law Society Gazette

Mainly I write (editorial and content): legal, property, DEI. Freelance @lawsocgazette @insidehousing. prev LB, Euromoney etc. Lawyer. Multilingual.

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Articles

At 54, I'm caring for grown-up kids and mum in a four-bed house - I feel trapped

1 week ago | inews.co.uk | Maria Shahid

When we first bought our terraced house in a London suburb in the late noughties, we had just upsized from a two-bedroom flat. We’d welcomed our first baby and the flat felt cramped and pokey. By comparison, the new home with four bedrooms, two (ish) reception rooms, spread across three floors, felt cavernous. The perfect place to raise a family. But, fast forward 20 years, and we are still here.
Commercial property: Common ground

3 weeks ago | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

The unstable commercial policies of the Trump White House are pushing investor interest in UK commercial property and housing developments. But the interest is at the top end of the market, and comes with a sustained focus on any building’s environmental credentials. Clients wrongfooted by higher-than-expected interest rates and a sluggish transactions market are more willing to litigate, while insolvency instructions are rising.
Residential property: Common ground

1 month ago | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

Sweeping reforms to leasehold and digitisation of the property buying process descend on a residential conveyancing sector that struggles to retain and replace its lawyers. Maria Shahid reportsLow margins, risk and highly pressurised transactions continue to preoccupy lawyers and law firms involved in residential conveyancing. The upshot, some allege, is a tentative approach from junior practitioners to advice, leading to delays and complications.
Regeneration: Best laid plans | Law Gazette

2 months ago | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

Ambitious reforms of planning law seek to boost economic growth, alleviate the housing crisis and foster investment. Will they succeed? Maria Shahid reportsRegeneration is the political holy grail for both central and local government. Done right, it promises that strategic planning can effect a change in physical space that provides housing, pulls in private investment, improves infrastructure and facilities, and boosts business and social activities.
CMA chair ousting met with concern by competition law experts

Jan 22, 2025 | techmonitor.ai | Maria Shahid

The resignation of the chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Marcus Bokkerink, confirmed by government ministers on Tuesday evening, was greeted with optimism by business leaders – though an outspoken minority criticised the government for being too interventionist.
Climate litigation: A change in the weather

Nov 5, 2024 | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

The dominoes are starting to fall in international climate litigation, as England and Wales establishes itself as the lead jurisdiction. Maria Shahid reports London’s courts are the focus of strategic litigation that aims to use the law to force action on the climate emergency. There is a perception that our courts are increasingly open to roles as a forum for litigating responsibility for the planet’s future.
Building bridges

Oct 31, 2024 | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

A 1994 report by Sir Michael Latham revolutionised the handling of construction disputes, ushering in an adjudication system where parties would ‘pay now, argue later’. Three decades on, reports Maria Shahid, the reforms still divide lawyersPublished 30 years ago, Sir Michael Latham’s Constructing the Team report sought to address inefficiencies in a sector characterised by lengthy disputes, cost overruns, and ineffective and fragmented industry practices.
Regenerating retail: Place makers

Oct 24, 2024 | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

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 It is easy enough to find town centres and high streets that have been hit hard by changes in the way we shop. Retail was always at the heart of these centres.
London in the stocks

Jul 15, 2024 | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

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? The London Stock Exchange once had an unassailable lead over Paris. But now the neighbouring capitals are neck and neck. Delistings and high-profile moves to other trading platforms are the cause of soul-searching in the City.
Keeping house

May 23, 2024 | lawgazette.co.uk | Maria Shahid

The low down Conveyancing solicitors still talk of the satisfaction of securing a much-wanted home for clients whose life plans are heavily reliant on the transaction. It is a moment they need to savour. In 2023, 35% of transactions fell through. And for those deals that do get over the line, solicitors face enhanced personal risks, as they sign off on transactions where other professionals may have failed to play their part in providing reliable material information.