The Government’s Safeguarding Minster Jess Phillips has admitted the Domestic, Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-Based Violence (DASH) assessment, used to decide which victims of domestic abuse get urgent support, doesn’t work in a recently published
The fourth year of a conference considering the impact of domestic abuse on family law practitioners and professionals from across the family community will return for its fourth year in Bristol. Watkins Solicitors is to
Midlands law firm Higgs has secured backing from August Equity, making it the first legal firm in the investor’s 48-strong portfolio. The Dudley-based firm, established in the Black Country in 1875, has 28 partners, 250
The High Court has refused a father’s application for the return of his 11‑year‑old son to Zimbabwe, holding that his court‑ordered contact amounted to access rather than rights of custody and so the removal was
Cumbria-based Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors has announced Managing Director Peter Stafford will retire at the end of September, concluding more than 25 years with the firm and a decade as Managing Partner. Stafford will be succeeded
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has acknowledged a ‘bug’ in its software used to manage civil, family and tribunal courts could have resulted evidence going missing, being overwritten or appearing to be lost. The
A high court ruling, heard by Mrs Justice Lieven DBE, has sentenced a father to six months in prison for repeated breaches of court orders relating to the abduction and continued retention of his daughter
The value of future inheritance planning has been outlined by wealth manager and financial advisers Quilter who estimate a working-age single homeowner in England with an average-priced home and ‘moderate’ pension pot could be liable
The Bank of England’s decision to reduce interest rates to 4% in recent weeks could signal the ‘starting gun’ for couples looking to divorce speculates one family law professional. Judit Kerese, Associate at Stowe Family
Several leading family law firms across the UK have announced significant developments, strengthening their teams and expanding services to better support clients navigating complex family matters. Ellisons Solicitors has enhanced its offering for separating couples
Physical and psychological abuse in relationships amongst younger people is reported to be on the increase according to new data by support services provider Refuge. In what is described as a ‘disturbing rise in domestic
A family court judge has been admonished for her behaviour following three separate complaints during referred to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. Her Honour Judge Martine Kushner has received formal advice following the judicial conduct
A group of cyber hackers who claim to be responsible for the attack on the Legal Aid Agency has threatened to publish the data gathered through the cyber attack unless one of their members is
A sham trust hid significant assets a High Court ruling has found resulting in an award worth £15m being transferred from an ex husband to his wife. Mario Michael was a prolific property investor and
A man who was legally married to his previous partner and married a second is at the centre of an inheritance dispute following his death from cancer in 2020. Accountant James Dinsdale’s £1.8m estate is
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has refused to restore a solicitor to the roll after he was struck off in 2021 for a series of regulatory and supervision breaches that resulted in a £1.2 million fraud.
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has published enhanced guidance on remedies that sets out five questions to assess whether a remedy is appropriate. The updated guidance is aimed at supporting service providers to identify and apply
Decisions shared by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in July reveal 13 firms have been fined a total of £275,170 for AML breaches dating back to 2011 – with one firm fined £114,006. Amphlett Lissimore Bagshaws
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has awarded £360,000 to 11 organisations to support people from disadvantaged backgrounds with the cost of sitting the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The organisations provide a range of legal, educational
As the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s AML enforcement team continues its crackdown on regulation breaches, the Law Society of England and Wales has said it is ‘disappointed’ with the government’s response to the 2024 consultation on
North-west law firm Bell Lamb & Joynson is celebrating a record-breaking financial year, with turnover from client fees rising by 17.79% to reach £5.2 million – the first time in the firm’s 200 year history
The annual LawShare conference returns to the 5 star Lowry Hotel in Manchester on Thursday the 9th of October covering pertinent issues surrounding the running of a law firm. The conference has welcomes a variety
A charity founded by a lawyer to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds is providing ‘welcome packs’ for new Year 7 pupils, including uniform vouchers, stationery, a school bag and other academic resources. The Be
A contested private financial remedy cost a couple £37,000 over just 46 words in a decision over whether a husband was entitled to refer to events which took place at a private FDR. In a
A senior solicitor has been struck off the Roll of Solicitors following a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) hearing which found he had acted dishonestly in concealing assets during his divorce proceedings and misused his firm’s
Against a backdrop of employees being encouraged back into the office according to the latest KPMG CEO Report, a consultant-style law firm has reported a five fold increase in the number of consultant solicitors in
Recent court judgements on nuptial agreements have placed an emphasis on the importance of transparency and independent legal advice when it comes to the court’s ability to enforce them; with the latest Court of Appeal
A solicitor has been struck off and ordered to pay costs of £29,775.84 for multiple breaches of Money Laundering Regulations that the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said represented ‘widespread and fundamental non-compliance with critical regulations’ amounting
Data from the recently published Office for National Statistics legal partnership status report has revealed the areas with the highest divorce rates in the UK. The analysis, which has been conducted by Reiss Edwards Family
An Edinburgh-based charity has helped more than 250 grandparents who have sought information and help over the last nine years over alienation from their grandchildren. A review of the Shared Parenting Scotland database has revealed
A family law professional has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Brighton recognising their ‘significant and sustained impact on the legal profession and a commitment to making the justice system more accessible
A charity based in Sheffield has launched a CPD-certified training programme for legal professionals to help with better understanding impact of coercive control and post-separation abuse. Charity Mums In Need offers long-term, trauma-informed support to
The cyber attack on the Legal Aid Agency could have been bigger than first thought with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) now admitting it thinks data as far back as 2007 could have been compromised.
The Legal Aid Agency has said its systems could be back online in September with a brand new system currently being built to replace the compromised system hacked into by criminals in April of this
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is inviting Legal aid providers to a discussion on using interest on client account to fund access to justice. According to email correspondence firms are invite to roundtable discussions next
There are fewer marriages, more families choosing to cohabit, and more people who live alone in retirement according to recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ‘Families and households in the UK: