Toni is the Media Officer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills & Probate and Today’s Family Lawyer.
I worked for a law firm for 16 years, during my time at the firm I worked as a company commercial legal secretary for 7 years but changed careers and moved into marketing for the remaining 9 years – where I covered all aspects of marketing.
While in the marketing role, I achieved a CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing and CAM Diploma in Digital Marketing.
We have certainly had a turbulent ride in 2020 with the pandemic causing unprecedented chaos and disruption and changing the legal landscape. Today’s Family Lawyer asked professionals and organisations in the industry their predictions for
No-one could have predicted this year and how it has turned out and I am sure I speak for many that it is a year that we would be happy to see the back of.
Cafcass’ Annual Report and Accounts for 2019-20 provides a summary to Parliament and the public on their activity for the financial year, including their work, their aspirations and their performance. Cafcass said: “Our Annual Report
The Ministry of Justice have released the latest family court statistics from July to September 2020. Jan Galloway, Partner at Moore Barlow commented on the statistics. She said: “It’s a sad reality of Covid that
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme for an extra one month until the end of April next year. Rishi said the move would provide “certainty for millions of jobs and businesses”. The further
Family practitioners said the Financial Remedy Service on MyHMCTS online plays a key role in simplifying and improving the divorce process. HM Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) have revealed that more than 10,000 consent applications
Public premises to be used as Nightingale courtrooms are due to open in the new year. An additional nine more Nightingale courtrooms will open their doors at the end of January, which sees libraries, theatres
The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary have released their December 2020 Family Justice Board statement: Priorities for the family justice system. They said: “The Family Justice Board has produced a statement, that summarises the priority actions
A family lawyer based in the South believes that Proposed Capital Gains Tax (CGT) changes will impact divorcees greatly. Simon Bassett, partner and head of family at Royds Withy King warns that the proposed increases
The latest Office of National Statistics domestic abuse statistics reveal an increase in offences flagged as domestic abuse-related during the pandemic in England and Wales. The data which was extracted from a range of data
The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane puts pen to paper and writes down his key thoughts for the family industry. His latest edition of ‘A View from the President’s Chambers’ covers a
Legal mental health charity, Lawcare is urging legal professionals to join over 1,350 fellow colleagues to make their voice heard and tell their story in a ground-breaking research study. Only four weeks to go until
Family Law experts discuss whether the industry will see a surge in demand for legal services in 2021 following the latest peak in divorce rates in England and Wales. The latest divorce rate figures released
Health Secretary Matt Hancock sets out tougher rules for England’s new coronavirus tier system. As we come out of the second lockdown in a bid to protect vital services in the fight against the virus,
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has confirmed the dates over the Christmas and new year period in which Crown Courts, magistrates’ courts, County and Family Courts, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Rolls
Cafcass has published guidance which outlines how arrangements are to be made for social workers to see children and families, work in the Cafcass offices and attend court during the enduring crisis associated with Covid-19.
Resolution was represented on the working group and played an active part in the consultation and preparation of the final report of the Working Group on Medical Experts in the Family Courts which has now
The Office of National Statistics latest annual divorce numbers and rates in England and Wales reveal an 18% rise in divorces in 2019. It has certainly been a turbulent year in family law due to
The Government have today (18 November 2020) announced they will give a major funding boost for victims of rape and domestic abuse due to those working in the services enduring greater demand this winter. Nearly
The Office of National Statistics publishes the latest annual statistics on formations and dissolutions of civil partnerships in England and Wales. It’s fast approaching a year since civil partnerships were extended to opposite-sex couples on
Fegans, a charity which provides professional children’s counselling and parenting support services, has welcomed a report published today by the Family Solutions Group which calls for a radical change in how parents separate in the
New Research has revealed that lockdown has helped marriages whereas divorce lawyers have never been busier – but which is it? The unprecedented pandemic has reshaped personal relationships by forcing us to live in each
The UK’s first lockdown resulted in a record number of people obtaining court orders for domestic abuse in order to protect themselves. New figures released reveal that more than 8,800 applications for domestic violence remedy
A thousand practitioners respond to Resolution wellbeing survey so far Initial findings show work-related pressures increased since first lockdown Survey open until Sunday – with full results to be published in New Year Nearly 75%
During the second lockdown, the Government has confirmed that law firms can open up their doors to the public. The Law Society recently met with officials from the government to lock in an agreement and
UK businesses have lost more than £6.2 million to cyber scams in the past 12 months with nearly a third increase in cases during the peak of the pandemic, new research shows. From May to
The LexisNexis 2020 Family Law Awards is now open for bookings to celebrate all the hard work and successes of family law practitioners. Everyone is invited to the innovative awards ceremony on 25th November at
Law firms and individual practitioners across all sectors of the legal profession have been bombarded with scams while attempting to recover from the pandemic. The legal industry has been under attack over the last few
A new textbook published this week entitled ‘Family law leaves the EU: A summary guide for practitioners’ has been written by one of the world’s leading family lawyers, Prof David Hodson OBE MCI Arb. It
The head of the children department with London firm Dawson Cornwell, Anne-Marie Hutchinson, has sadly died on 2 October after an illness. After the firm she worked at, Dawson Cornwell, recently announced the news, tributes
Chambers and Partners’ annual rankings show legal profession hits gender parity for up-and-coming lawyers for first time in rankings history. Chambers’ 2021 solicitor rankings show that newly ranked up-and-coming lawyers – those attaining partner level
A one-year review of Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) transparency reforms indicates encouraging trends as research found most consumers now believe that solicitors are not as expensive as they originally thought. The regulator surveyed 3,539 recent
Resolution, a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way, shares their 2019 annual review and applauds their members by saying their successes are down
The Office for Legal Complaints is pleased to announce the appointments of Paul McFadden as Chief Ombudsman and Sandra Strinati as Chief Operating Officer of the Legal Ombudsman. Elisabeth Davies, Chair of OLC, said: “Paul
Family lawyers were urged this week at Resolution’s Future of Family Practice Online Conference to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing. The President of the Family Division praised the ‘can do’ approach of family lawyers
It’s been a turbulent year, notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, as the legal industry has been forced to rapidly adapt in order to maintain business continuity, while also adhering and adjusting to new laws and legislation