With the Olympics and Paralympics inspiring the nation and the Diamond Jubilee and foreign elections being the hot topics of the year, it is easy to forget the abundance of legal stories that grabbed the attention over the last 12 months. From twittering to squatting we narrow down our top ten legal stories of the year. 

 1. Invasion of privacy and the Leveson Inquiry  2012 saw a number of concerning stories about the actions of an undisciplined press. In November 2012 the Leveson Report was published. This recommended a new independent body to supervise the press with the power to impose sanctions, including fines and an inquisitorial arbitration service for handling tort claims such as libel and breach of privacy was recommended. 

 2. Libel and trial by Twitter When politician Alistair McAlpine was falsely accused of child abuse he promised to take action against the Twitter users who repeated or retweeted the false allegations. Following these events a change in the law of defamation is foreseeable and we could see more claims for damages being sought from high profile twitter users who put forward or repeat unsubstantiated allegations. 

 3. More concern over the Jackson Civil Costs Reforms In 2010 the Jackson review of civil litigation costs identified a number of issues driving disproportionate legal costs. Its recommendations were supposed to be implemented by October 2012 but this has now been pushed back to April 2013. Many in the legal profession will be adversely affected by the recommendations, in particular, thousands of personal injury solicitors may have their recoverable costs cut in half under the new system. The Law Society described the proposed fixed costs for personal injury solicitors as ‘woefully inadequate’ and promised to raise these concerns. 

4. Legal Aid to be strictly rationed Despite the fact that the demand for civil legal aid has surged, significant cuts have already been made with a further £350m of cuts due to come in from 31 March 2013. This means that operations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau will be strictly rationing their services in 2013. 

5. Auto-enrolment begins You have probably seen the adverts stating that if you are an eligible jobholder not already participating in a workplace pension, the Pensions Act 2008 and 2011 now require employers to auto-enrol you into a qualifying pension scheme or the National Employment Savings Trust. Not everyone will be enrolled yet as the duty to auto-enrol has been implemented in stages and so the employer's staging date is dependent on its PAYE scheme size and reference. 

6. National minimum wage increases to £6.19 per hour  The main rate of the national minimum wage has risen from £6.08 to £6.19 per hour. The apprentice rate increases from £2.60 to £2.65 per hour, and the accommodation offset increases from £4.73 to £4.82 per day. These are the minimum an employee over the age of 18 should be paid so ensure your pay has increased accordingly.

7. The Criminalisation of Squatting Good news for homeowners as they now receive better protection as squatting in residential buildings became a criminal offence for the first time in England and Wales from 1 September 2012. The unfortunate subsequent side effect was that commercial premises such as abandoned pubs have now been targeted by squatters wanting to avoid a criminal record. Justice ministers have now been urged to create the same offence for commercial premises.

8. Prisoner’s votes ban Parliament defied the European Court of Human Rights by keeping the blanket ban on prisoners having the right to vote. In response to this some prisoners are already taking action to claim compensation for electoral moments they have missed. If successful it could be hugely expensive to the government.

9. Plans to curb judicial reviews  The government plans to cut down on the number of judicial review applications being received by shortening time limits, restricting opportunities for reconsideration of the applications and introducing new fees. The government said it not to deny access to justice and the rule of law but to provide a more practical approach that reduces the burden on public services. However, those critical of the plans say it will disproportionately affect those wishing to review immigration and asylum applications.

10. NHS reveals £1 billion litigation bill The NHS paid out a record £1 billion in litigation claims over 2011 to 2012, mostly for clinical negligence. This sum which represents legal costs and compensation pay-outs, shows a massive rise on 2011 when the bill was £863 million. There have been calls for action to prevent these costs escalating further.