Matilda Battersby is a freelance journalist and editor, and a senior reporter at the Today’s Media titles. She worked at The Independent newspaper for many years, but has also worked at The Times, Evening Standard, Telegraph and I newspapers since going freelance in 2015. Her specialisms are property and books, having worked extensively for various trade property magazines and The Bookseller magazine. She is based in East London.
The government has said it “is not in a position to bring forward legislation on surrogacy reform” but will consider “options for future reform” following a debate in Parliament triggered by a public petition. The
A bill intended to make provision about support for infants, parents, carers of infants, and prospective parents and carers has passed its second reading and will move onto committee stage. The Infants, Parents and Carers
The incoming Law Society president has called for greater openness around disability in the legal sector. Brett Dixon, who will take up the post from October 2026, said improving disability inclusion is one of the
The Law Society of England and Wales has warned that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) complaints handling proposals could “increase administrative burden without delivering clear benefits for consumers”. The SRA recently consulted for a second
A judge has ordered a husband to pay his wife £110,000 after he failed to “provide a scintilla of accurate disclosure” about his assets and acted in a “deliberate and calculated” way to leave his
New research shows that 94% of lawyers use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for legal work, with 74% using it at least once a week and 34% using it every day. One in 10 (10%) of the
The Law Society has raised “serious concerns” over proposed changes to fees for the Legal Ombudsman. The 12 week consultation period on The Office for Legal Complaints’s (OLC) proposed changes to the Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO)
A family court judge has agreed to the “exceptional course” of suspending all contact between a father and his child for three years to allow the mother time to recover from complex-post traumatic stress disorder
A deputy High Court judge has handed down a judgment enforcing the terms of a pre-nuptial agreement in a case where the wife removed the signed copy of the agreement from the husband’s study and
The Court of Appeal has stayed an abduction order for a child to be returned to his father in Texas and ordered the case to be reconsidered six weeks after the birth of the child’s
A barrister has been disbarred for making audio recordings of court hearings in family proceedings and harassing an employee with confidential mental health issues over WhatsApp. The Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service heard three misconduct
Nearly a quarter of the population of England and Wales lives in an area classed as a ‘legal aid desert’, new research reveals. Analysis of local authority data by LexisNexis suggests that 14.49 million people,
Alex Norris has become the first non-lawyer to be granted the post of Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice in a Labour government. The MP for Nottingham North and Kimberley, who on Monday
The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by parents against an adoption order for their children after they highlighted a “procedural irregularity”. The Family Court at Portsmouth approved an adoption plan for two children,
Legal aid rates for family mediators, which have remained frozen for 25 years, must be improved to “ease pressure on family courts”, the Family Mediation Council (FMC) has warned. The organisation is calling for urgent
The government has announced default overnight curfews and the switch-off of addictive features to protect 16 and 17-year-olds on social media. The plans follow Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement in mid-June that the UK
Children’s cases referred to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (Cafcass) rose 9.7% in the last year, according to the latest figures. In the three months from 1 April 2026 to 30
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) report has found that sanctuary schemes “play an increasingly important role” in enabling survivors of domestic abuse to “remain safely in their homes” – but that
A Family Court judge has given approval for a parental order to be made for a British couple following complications arising from a child being born to a surrogate in Minnesota, USA. One of the
Nagalro has welcomed the Independent Review of Social Work Professional Regulation in England but argues that proposed reforms should go further when it comes to family procedure rules in courts. The review by Dame Annie
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data reveals the number of Black judges has remained “disappointingly stagnant”. The diversity of the judiciary statistics for 2026 show Black judges make up only 1.6% of the judiciary, up slightly
A judge for the family division of the High Court has given permission for a “blameless” couple who had fertility treatment in Sri Lanka to apply for an adoption order after it was discovered that
A new report calls on the government to embed a recognition of kinship care and understanding of trauma into its special educational needs (SEND) reforms. The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kinship Care report,
The widow of a “giant of the legal profession in Birmingham” has lost her appeal against a 28-day suspended prison sentence for contempt. Sophie Fleming was previously found to have harassed the executors of her
The solicitor general has announced a national rollout of the Victims’ Right to Review scheme a year on from its launch. Following a successful pilot launched in the West Midlands in June 2025, rape and
Most parents who go to court to make arrangements for their children do not return to court, according to new research by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. The new report, Routes Through Court for Families
A petition calling for parents convicted of abuse to automatically lose parental responsibility has attracted more than 13,500 signatures. The petition, which has three months still remaining, could potentially trigger a Parliamentary response or debate
The government’s proposed social media ban for under-16s could create a new battleground for separated parents, family lawyers at HCR Law have warned. The proposals, which are intended to protect children from harmful online content
New research reveals that across every form of contact, law firms scored themselves significantly higher for customer service than customers did. A survey of 200 law firms and 5,000 consumers discovered the gap between business
The government has announced that social media platforms will be blocked from offering services to under-16s. The move follows Australia’s social media ban which came into force in January. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said
Half of women working in legal services say their current working pattern is unsustainable for their long-term health. A majority (67%) of women lawyers have considered moving jobs or taking a career break due to
New salary research has revealed the biggest disparity in pay begins four years after lawyers have qualified. Realm’s 2026 Private Client Salary Guide explores salary benchmarks from a survey of 1,000 lawyers and experts across
The former CEO of National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), who “fought tirelessly” for better recognition of paralegals in the UK, has announced she is retiring. Amanda Hamilton (pictured), who is credited with transforming the
New research from Bangor University has revealed systemic barriers to justice for victims of non-fatal strangulation with “inconsistent application” and a need for police training. The offence of non-fatal strangulation came into force under the
The Law Society of England and Wales has launched a survey about LGBTQ+ solicitors’ experiences five years after it first launched its Pride in the Law initiative. The Pride in the Law 2026 survey will
A report showing the majority of judgments in the family court contain gender bias and victim-blaming was presented to MPs in Parliament this week. Right to Equality’s Scratching the Surface report contains analysis of 91