Divorce law: out with the old and in with the new
Assigning fault or blame between spouses has been at the heart of divorce legislation for centuries. The need to prove fault was expanded at various stages between 1857 and 1973. The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 provided one ground for divorce; that the marriage had irretrievably broken down. There were five factors to prove this: adultery, […]
Court delays and mediation, arbitration and private FDRs
Long waits for hearings to be listed and cases being adjourned at short notice owing to lack of judicial availability were fairly common issues and occurrences in family law practitioners’ lives long before the pandemic. Covid-19 has only exacerbated these difficulties. In December 2020 HMCTS estimated that it might take three years for the backlog […]
SRA appoints new Director of Education and Training
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has appointed Julie Swan as Director of Education and Training, a role which will include leading the ongoing delivery of the SQE (Solicitors Qualifying Examination). Julie will succeed the present incumbent, Julie Brannan who leaves in June this year after a hugely successful period in this important position. Julie has […]
