Family Mediation Week 2026: 26th-30th January
Family Mediation Week 2026 was launched at the office of Family Law in Partnership in London yesterday (Wednesday), ahead of a week packed with on and offline events and learning opportunities for family lawyers, other professionals and the wider general public. The event, hosted by the Family Mediation Council (FMC), outlined the ambitions for the […]
Social purpose law firm launches divorce chatbot to improve early support
Social purpose specialist law firm Anthony Collins has launched a free AI support service to help clients navigate the first steps of the divorce process. The firm, which has offices across the Midlands and North West, developed Talk to Aida with experienced family lawyers to offer discreet guidance 24 hours a day. All conversations are […]
High Court rules WhatsApp messages are not legal signatures in divorce case
A High Court judge in a test case involving a dispute over the ownership of property belonging to a former husband and wife has ruled WhatsApp messages are not legally binding signatures in the transfer of property. In Maxine Reid-Roberts & Anor v Hsiao Mei-Lin & Anor, Mr Justice Cawson did not consider WhatsApp messages […]
New charity launches national directory of separated parenting programmes
A new charity, the Separated Parenting Programme Directory (SPPD), has launched in the UK with the aim of providing family law professionals and separating parents with a single, national directory of quality-assured separated parenting programmes. SPPD has been established to provide a practical solution to a long-standing issue within the family justice landscape. While courts, […]
mfg Solicitors appoints Richard Port MBE to expand family team
Midlands law firm mfg Solicitors has strengthened its family team with the appointment of Richard Port MBE as partner and head of family in Birmingham. A highly experienced family law specialist with expertise in providing legal services to victims of domestic abuse and managing complex proceedings, Port advises on the full range of family law […]
Legal GiGZ launches ‘world first’ global directory of business of law conferences and events
Legal GiGZ, which claims to be the world’s first comprehensive directory of ‘business of law’ conferences and events, has launched a platform bringing together over 260 legal industry events across more than 40 countries. Founded by Shaun Jardine, a former law firm CEO and managing partner with over 30 years’ experience in the legal sector, […]
Researchers call for UK banking industry to ‘design out’ economic abuse
Researchers from Northumbria University and the University of London have called for the UK banking industry to ‘design out’ economic abuse, after a six-month study identified how banking products, services and technologies are intentionally weaponised by abusers. The report published by the authors of the research – Designing Out Economic Abuse in the UK Banking […]
FMC hosts week of free webinars for Family Mediation Week 2026
The Family Mediation Council (FMC) is inviting family law professionals to take part in a series of free one-hour webinars during Family Mediation Week 2026, which will take place from 26-30 January. The annual awareness week, organised by the FMC, showcases how family mediation can support the work of solicitors, social workers, teachers and a […]
Senior appointments expand family teams for Jackson Lees and Harrogate Family Law
Jennifer Carr has joined the private family team at Jackson Lees as senior associate, while Harrogate Family Law has welcomed senior family lawyer Charlotte Davies to its team. Carr (main picture), who has more than 15 years’ experience as a solicitor across Merseyside and Cheshire, joins Jackson Lees from the Liverpool office of MSB Solicitors. […]
‘Divorce day is a myth’ – family lawyers weigh in on annual ‘event’
The first working Monday of the year has been dubbed ‘divorce day’, due to a supposed influx of couples seeking legal help to end their marriages. But much like the thoroughly debunked Blue Monday, which continues to receive mainstream coverage two decades after a PR company came up with the concept to sell holidays, family […]
Psychotherapist loses bid for anonymity, as Appeal Court rules judicial criticism doesn’t trigger additional rights
A psychotherapist who attempted to block being named in the judgment on a case for which she was a witness has had her bid for anonymity refused by the Court of Appeal. Aimee Dover, a witness of fact relating to private law proceedings, appealed to have a judgment containing “significant criticisms of her professional conduct” […]
High Court test case will decide whether WhatsApp messages are legally binding
A divorced artist who claims her ex-husband signed over their £1.5 million home to her via WhatsApp after their split is locked in a High Court test case fight to keep it. London-based painter Hsiao Mei-Lin married Icelandic financier Audun Mar Gudmundsson in 2009, but the pair had a troubled marriage and separated in 2016. […]
Over half a million children to be lifted out of poverty in ‘historic’ strategy
A government strategy to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030 will see the biggest reduction in poverty in a single parliament since records began, the prime minister’s office has said. Describing the strategy as “a moral mission for me,” the prime minister said the strategy will set “a new course for national renewal, […]
UK law societies back landmark treaty to protect lawyers
UK law societies have united to call for urgent ratification of a new treaty designed to protect lawyers this World Human Rights Day (10 December). They say that the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer provides a protective framework against the rising tide of harassment, threats and physical attacks that undermine their ability to do their job […]
Property tycoon Michael Fuchs guilty of contempt after breaching order in divorce dispute
Billionaire property tycoon Michael Fuchs has been found in contempt of court for breaching two orders made by the High Court in March, in a long-running divorce dispute with his former wife, journalist Alvina Collardeau-Fuchs. The application to commit Fuchs to prison for contempt was made by Collardeau, who alleged he had sold US properties […]
Law Society research lays bare shocking scale of threats and abuse against solicitors
Research by the Law Society of England and Wales has laid bare the levels of threats faced by solicitors, with half of those interviewed for the research reporting threats or abuse related to their work in the last 12 months. The survey of 286 Law Society members, carried out in August, revealed ‘an alarmingly high’ […]
LSB seeks feedback on encouraging diversity in legal sector
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has shared new proposals that aim to support equality and diversity in the legal profession and is inviting feedback from across the sector. The proposals would replace existing guidance published in 2017 and amended in 2020, setting out a new framework for regulators to drive consistent improvement across the sector. The consultation – open now until 2 March – […]
Budget may have ‘profound and immediate’ impact on separating couples
The accidental publication of the content of the budget by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) nearly made more headlines than the content of Labour’s much-anticipated budget which threatened fireworks and delivered ‘no return to austerity’ and a promise ‘the wealthiest will contribute the most’ to filling the gap in the public finances. After weeks […]
Domestic abuse-related offences accounted for more than 15% of all crimes recorded by police in the last year
Domestic abuse continues to cast a long shadow across England and Wales said one family law professional as the latest data on the prevalence of domestic abuse in society was revealed in the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. Alarmingly, domestic abuse-related offences accounted for more than 15% of all crimes recorded by police […]
Rebuke for Whitehaven firm that failed to return residual balances for almost 10 years
A Whitehaven firm has been sanctioned for incorrectly retaining residual balances for almost 10 years, with one balance worth over £50,000. Brockbank Curwen Cain & Hall Limited was investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2020, after the firm’s accountants report for the accounting period ending June 2020 was qualified, with one of the qualifications […]