LFMC Professional Services Marketing Survey
The Law Firm Marketing Club (LFMC) have announced the launch of its annual Professional Services Marketing Survey, inviting participation from professional services firms across the United Kingdom. The survey, designed to offer comprehensive insights into the professional services landscape, promises to be a valuable resource for firms seeking to navigate the evolving market trends. The […]
Law Society calling on family law practitioners
The Law Society of England and Wales is calling on family law practitioners to take part in the next stage of our research from Frontier Economics. If you do sign up you will be joining other members of the legal community confidentially sharing economic evidence with the Law Society consultants to help shape civil legal […]
Tougher laws to protect children from sexual abuse
Announced today, children will be better protected from sexual predators under plans being brought forward by the Home Secretary. Children will be better protected from sexual predators under plans being brought forward by the Home Secretary today. Wednesday 21st February. There will be a legal requirement for anyone in regulated activity relating to children in […]
Legal regulators must do more on transparency and harm prevention, says LSB
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published its latest assessment of the performance of the eight legal services regulators. The LSB is the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. In it’s assessment, which covers the period October 2022 to May 2023, the LSB has reviewed the regulators’ […]
International Family Law Conference 2024
International Family Law Conference 2024 – Cascais (near Lisbon), Portugal Expatriate Law are excited to extend a warm welcome to family lawyers worldwide as they invite family lawyers to attend the upcoming conference in Cascais, Portugal. This 1.5-day event will cover an array of international family law topics, providing invaluable insights for practitioners across jurisdictions. […]
20 Nightingale courtrooms remain open to boost capacity
It has been announced that a total of 20 Nightingale courtrooms will remain open in 2024 to allow more cases to be heard across the country. These temporary courtrooms, across nine venues, will continue to be used by judges to hear cases ranging from shoplifting to family proceedings and small claims hearings. The majority of the […]
Bridging the Bar 2023 Outreach Programme
The High Court and Court of Appeal have opened their doors to the charity Bridging the Bar and its outreach programme. The Judicial Office Diversity and Inclusion Team, in collaboration with the academy within Bridging the Bar (BTB), facilitated a five-day paid placement to 19 aspiring barristers from under-represented groups. The programme ran for two […]
‘Children of care leavers risk inheriting parents’ emotional scars’, finds research
The trauma associated with care experience casts a long shadow on mothers’ mental health and that of their children, finds new UCL research released last week. The researchers found that mothers who had lived in care were at greater risk of mental health difficulties than mothers who hadn’t experienced care, with their children also experiencing […]
Law Society Legal Heroes 2024 open for nominations
The Law Society of England and Wales has opened nominations for Legal Heroes 2024, which recognises the solicitors who stand out for making a lasting difference. People across England and Wales are being encouraged to nominate their Legal Hero – someone who has made a difference to the lives of others, their local community or […]
‘Enforcement times will be cut from six months to six weeks’, say ministers
For parents who refuse to financially support their children, new reforms will propose they will face quicker penalties under government plans. With ministers saying enforcement times will be cut from six months to six weeks in plans soon to be announced. The government have also confirmed that a £20 application fee for parents seeking intervention […]
Court delays significantly impacting children, says NSPCC
Following on from the article by NSPCC and the impacts of court delays on those involved, the figures speak for themselves. The average number of days between a defendant in child sexual abuse cases being charged and the criminal trial starting rose from 273 days in 2017/2018 to 423 days in 2022/2023. This means that […]
Supreme Court ruling is ‘long overdue’ on overseas divorces
Yesterday’s Supreme Court judgment on applications for financial relief in Potanina v Potanin, following an overseas divorce has been described as ‘long overdue’ by Baroness Shackleton, who represented Potanin and ‘a warning that an application in this jurisdiction is not necessarily a meal ticket’ by Katie McCann. The case concerned whether the court should have granted the […]
Hair strand testing | Are children at risk from substance misuse?
Are children at risk from substance misuse, is an all too familiar question facing the family courts. Hair strand testing (HST) is the most common form of testing used to produce evidence for the courts in these cases. Despite guidance from the High Court and compelling evidence accumulated over the past 25 years confirming that […]
More transparency in the family courts will fight client fears
As part of a new pilot scheme – the ‘Reporting Pilot’ – to make proceedings in the family courts more transparent and less secretive, press reporters and legal bloggers have been covering family cases from the Leeds, Carlisle and Cardiff courtrooms over the last year. In the last few weeks the pilot has been extended […]
Family practitioners celebrated at inaugural British Family Law Awards
The family law community sector came together to recognise legal excellence, client care and staff wellbeing at the inaugural British Family Law Awards, with 200 people joining the celebrations at Harbour House Hotel in the historic city of Bristol. Across 14 hotly contested categories the British Family Law Awards recognises the individuals and organisations across […]
Should mediation be compulsory in family cases?
Eye-watering delays, hearings vacated at the 11th hour due to “judicial unavailability” and cases transferred out to ‘overflow courts’ – should there be any doubt, the family court system in England and Wales is on its knees. Could making mediation compulsory help improve matters? Mediation has a number of benefits such as autonomy, speed and, […]
Burgess Mee Hires Family Law Partner
Burgess Mee Hires Family Law Partner, Rachel Freeman from Kingsley Napley LLP. Burgess Mee Family Law have announced the appointment of family law partner Rachel Freeman. Rachel joins the firm from Kingsley Napley LLP (where she was a partner). Rachel has more than 20 years’ experience across all areas of family law. She has particular […]
Majority of professionals seek more employer support for wellbeing
55% of professionals think employers should be doing more to help with employee wellbeing – whilst over two-fifths of senior leaders feel their increased spending on wellness benefits is going by largely unnoticed. A new poll from international recruitment firm Robert Walters has found professionals in the UK & Ireland are increasingly feeling that their […]
SurrogacyUK Conference 2024
SurrogacyUK’s Annual Conference 2024 will take place on Saturday 20th April 2024 in Leicestershire. with attendance is open to both SurrogacyUK members and non-members, and legal professionals and experts on surrogacy law are crucial. With over 600 delegates attending the SurrogacyUK Annual Conference 2023 they expect this year to exceed that. Last years attendees particularly […]
NSPCC ‘urging government to take action on sexual abuse trial delays’
The NSPCC have urged the Government to take action on sexual abuse trial delays. New data from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) shows delays to criminal trials have increased by 55% in the past five years and this is also impacting child sexual abuse trials. As a result the NSPCC are asking the Government to […]