As part of Family Mediation Week, legal practitioners share their thoughts on its benefits
Mid-way through Family Mediation Week, Today’s Family Lawyer readers have shared their thoughts on the benefits of mediation and the supporting role it plays in legal practice. With plenty of events still available to attend in person and online, Helen Anthony, chief executive of the Family Mediation Council, says it’s not too late to get […]
Publicly funded mediation down 60% since 2013
Publicly funded mediation has seen a substantial decline since 2013, with a 60% drop in assessments over 12 years and a halving of successful agreements, data from Nuffield Family Justice Observatory reveals. The fall is frequently attributed to the removal of legal aid for most private law cases, as families were most often signposted to […]
Financial remedy transparency pilot extended
The Transparency Reporting Pilot For Financial Remedy Proceedings launched in January 2024 has been extended to 29 January this year and will now encompass all financial remedy proceedings taking place in courts in England and Wales. Following the end of the current scheme, it will be extended for a further year, from 30 January 2026 […]
Family mediator celebrates 90th birthday as practising solicitor
The founder of Essex and London law firm Rainer Hughes is celebrating his 90th birthday during Family Mediation Week – with the milestone also marking over 30 years since practising solicitor Brian Hughes qualified as a family mediator. Hughes qualified as a solicitor in 1965 and founded the firm that would later become Rainer Hughes. […]
Half of 18-44 year-olds ‘want prenups to protect digital assets’
A new survey from Irwin Mitchell suggests a lack of clarity and legal transparency over digital assets is leading young people to seek protection through pre-nuptial agreements. The survey of 1,000 UK asset holders aged between 18 and 44 revealed 67% of participants don’t believe the law has kept up with the growth of digital […]
Nightingale Courts to become permanent fixtures – but family lawyer says ‘it’s a sticking plaster on a dire reality’
Former court buildings in Fleetwood, Telford, Chichester and Cirencester – used as Nightingale Courts since the pandemic – will now become permanent fixtures, the Ministry of Justice has announced. The move will secure 11 additional courtrooms across the country where capacity is most needed, the MoJ said, to help tackle the backlog of family, civil […]
How high-conflict families can rebuild through mediation
Even the most meticulously drafted Child Arrangements Order can struggle to keep pace with the complex realities of family life. International travel, demanding professional commitments, multiple households and evolving child needs all create moving parts that a static court order cannot fully anticipate During Family Mediation Week, Alex Verdan KC and associate Felicia Munde emphasise […]
Sentencing Act becomes law
A more joined up approach to dealing with perpetrators of domestic abuse which will allow criminal justice agencies to identify domestic abusers and ensure they are better monitored to protect victims is to come into effect over the next two years, with the passing of new legislation. The Sentencing Act has received Royal Assent and […]