Leading divorce and family law firm, Maguire Family Law, has appointed Olivia Barry as its latest Associate Solicitor, as it looks to expand its growing team. Olivia joins Maguire Family Law, having previously worked at the national specialist family law firm, Stowe Family Law LLP, for three years. She obtained her law degree from Keele […]Read More

Families who have fallen foul to predatory marriages have backed calls for changes to the law. The issue was brought up by Leeds North East MP Fabian Hamilton during Prime Minister’s Questions. The PM thanked Mr Hamilton for highlighting the injustice suffered by these families and said he would secure a meeting with the justice […]Read More

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has increased its engagement with the legal sector in Wales by appointing its first ever Head of Welsh Affairs. Former Head of Policy at Citizens Advice Cymru, Liz Withers will lead the regulator’s public affairs and stakeholder engagement activities in Wales, including strengthening its understanding of the Welsh legal landscape […]Read More

There has been a new member announced on the Family Procedures Rules Committee (FPRC). Graeme Fraser, a member of Resolution’s National Committee is “honoured and privileged to have been selected to serve” on the FPRC. The FPRC set and maintain the rules of court for all family proceedings as well as the supporting Practice Directions. […]Read More

Typically, the media cite that January is ‘divorce month’ something that is propelled due to people setting themselves New Year’s Resolutions of a new year, new start. Those in the family law sector has strongly opposed this perception and have taken numerous stances to demonstrate that new year resolutions don’t produce high divorce levels. According […]Read More

HMCTS have updated their operational summary for week commencing Monday 7th June 2021. Updated: Last week we opened a new Nightingale court at the Mercure Maidstone. The court provides two non-custodial crown courtrooms for jury trials. As with all our Nightingale courts, the court has been set up on a temporary basis to provide additional […]Read More

The Family Law Awards have added a Well-being award to this year’s category list, to shine a spotlight on the resilience of the family law sector. The award will recognise the family law firm, chambers or other legal organisation, which has demonstrated the strongest commitment to providing or promoting a working environment that supports the mental […]Read More

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has abandoned its plans to reduce the maximum grants made from the Compensation Fund. This u-turn has been welcomed by The Law Society for England and Wales. A spokesperson for the Law Society commented: “We are pleased to hear that the SRA has decided not to reduce the single claim […]Read More

The Law Society has launched its member survey on the Practising Certificate Fee (PC fee) for 2021/22. The survey continues the consultation on the PC fee and business plan which began on 10 May and has already involved proactive discussions with groups of members to get their feedback. As a response to the challenges solicitors […]Read More

Since the pandemic and the rise of people working from home, cyber criminals have had to adapt to their new environment prior to launching a cyber attack. The UK Government estimates that the cost of cyber crime is £27bn a year. The latest data released in the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report shows that organisations are […]Read More

Anna Bradley has been reappointed as the Chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Board for a second three-year term. Anna will be the SRA Chair until December 2024, having originally taken up the post in January 2019. Her reappointment was confirmed by an independent panel chaired by Elizabeth Filkin CBE. During her tenure as […]Read More

HMCTS have updated their operational summary for week commencing Monday 24th May 2021. Updated: We actively encourage our staff and all court users to support their local authorities by taking part in surge testing in areas affected by variants of concern. We also strongly encourage everyone to continue with twice-weekly asymptomatic rapid testing regardless of […]Read More

New guidance on how to supervise and support junior staff and trainees via hybrid and flexible working models as firms and organisations look to return to the office has been unveiled by the Law Society of England and Wales. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “Since March 2020, solicitors have been working and supervising […]Read More

Simpson Millar has announced the appointment of Cara Nuttall as a new Family Law Partner in a move which furthers the firm’s ambitious expansion plans for 2021. Cara is joined by experienced Senior Associate, Jo-Anna Jellings and Solicitor, Joe Ailion. Joining from Manchester-based solicitors JMW, Cara and her team specialise in domestic and international surrogacy, […]Read More

Following the news of their divorce, the battle lines have been drawn further between Bill and Melinda Gates, as the billonaire’s estranged wife looks to increase her children’s inheritance of $10m each. Melinda has hired top trust and estate lawyers to her legal team, as the assets – worth $130bn – she shares with her […]Read More

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way cyber criminals target those they want to exploit. With this in mind, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has launched the Cyber Essentials Readiness Tool which helps firms prepare themselves for Cyber Essentials certification. The tool has been developed by IASME and asks firms a series of questions […]Read More

HMCTS have updated their operational summary for week commencing Monday 17th May 2021. We encourage all users to access testing available to them. Home tests are now available from all English and Welsh courts and tribunal sites and will be offered to all professional court users, legal professionals, judiciary, contractors, jurors, witness services and staff […]Read More

A quarter of family justice professionals are on the verge of quitting the profession as the toll of lockdown on their mental health becomes clear, the family law group Resolution revealed today, ahead of the release of a landmark well-being report. Over 1,200 family law practitioners surveyed for the report, which will be published next […]Read More

Mental health and stress have been phrases that we’ve heard regularly over the course of this pandemic, and people have all been affected in different ways, and this week mark’s Mental Health Awareness Week. With this in mind, we would like to see how our readers are feeling. We know the last 12 months have […]Read More

Continuing with our compliance theme, Matthew Locker, a Cyber Security Consultant at Apstorm has shared his ideas on how law firms can remain compliant in the modern world. The legal sector is rich in sensitive data and financial transactions, unfortunately, this makes it an attractive target for many cyber actors including, criminals, activists and possibly […]Read More