Tour de Law charity race opens for registration
Breast Cancer Now’s annual Tour de Law charity race is now open for registration. The event will see barristers and solicitors from across the UK participate and compete in a virtual charity cycling event over two days in October 2026. Legal professionals up and down the country will go head-to-head in Breast Cancer Now’s annual […]
BREAKING NEWS: Government ‘will strengthen rights for unmarried couples’ as cohabitation consultation launches
The government has launched its long-awaited consultation on reforms that would give cohabiting couples greater financial protections when relationships end, and automatic inheritance rights when a partner dies without a will. The proposals would also strengthen safeguards for domestic abuse survivors and explore making pre- and post-nuptial agreements legally binding, with minsters arguing the changes […]
‘Regressive’ Supreme Court ruling overturns Cheshire West consent precedent with immediate effect
A landmark judgment in Northern Ireland will have implications for the whole of the UK, after the Supreme Court overruled consent precedent set in Cheshire West. In a decision which has left many charities reeling, the Supreme Court has approved a revision to the Northern Irish Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Code of Practice so that […]
Compliance roles to be separated from senior leadership, as SRA clamps down on client money protection
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed the first intended actions to come out of recent client money consultations. “Higher risk” firms with a turnover of more than £600,000, or holding more than £2 million of client money, must make sure no single individual can both run a firm and oversee its compliance, including with […]
Legal whistleblowers gain greater protection as SRA gets PIDA designation
Anyone reporting wrongdoing in the legal sector to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) now has greater protection against the risk of retaliatory action. The SRA has been designated a prescribed person under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), giving anyone in the legal sector who acts as a whistleblower legal “protection from detriment”, such […]
ALSP consultant headcount grows 25% in 12 months, topping 5,000
The number of self-employed consultant lawyers within alternative legal service provider (ALSP) platforms has topped 5,000 – a 25% increase in just 12 months. The numbers have been revealed in the fourth Platform Firms Report from Codex Edge. Last year, the report’s authors described ALSPs as “a fundamental part of the UK legal fabric” and […]
Judicial College embeds domestic abuse training into ‘continuous’ curriculum for judges
The Judicial College has set out an overview of its training in domestic abuse for magistrates and judges in family court for the first time. The overview, published in addition to the Judicial College Prospectus for 2026 to 2027, reveals how training in domestic abuse will now be “embedded across the curriculum”. Under the plans, […]
Legal Aid Agency calls for more family legal aid capacity
The Legal Aid Agency has called for greater capacity in areas across the country and has invited firms to submit bids to support access to legal advice and justice. Providers will deliver work under the 2024 Standard Civil Contract with bids encouraged in Dorset, Dudley, East Sussex, Hartlepool, Knowsley, Sandwell, Solihull and St Helens. Issues […]
Jeff Lewis elected as new Law Society deputy vice president
The Law Society of England and Wales council has elected Jeff Lewis as its new deputy vice president. Lewis will take office in October 2026, become vice president in 2027 and president of the Law Society in 2028. As deputy district judge on the Northern Circuit since 2001, Lewis gained significant insight into the operations […]
New law ‘will see domestic abusers more easily evicted and victims able to keep tenancy’
Social landlords will be able to evict domestic abusers under a new law proposed by the government, which also seeks to better protect abuse victims from homelessness. The landmark Social Housing Bill, which returned to Parliament this week for its second reading, would give landlords and courts the ability to evict perpetrators of domestic abuse […]
New Business and Property Division set to replace Chancery Division
All Business and Property Courts are set to become part of a new Business and Property Division of the judiciary. The changes – which will include the Property, Trusts and Probate list – are intended to consolidate the current structure, which sees Business and Property Courts spread across both the King’s Bench and Chancery Divisions. […]
Sir Andrew McFarlane appointed patron of Family Rights Group
Former president of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has been appointed patron of Family Rights Group (FRG), a charity focused on reform of the child welfare and family justice systems. FRG has spent 50 years campaigning to ensure child welfare system supports children to live safely and thrive within their family. The organisation pioneers […]
Private equity backed law group rebrands following latest acquisition, with ambitions for national footprint
Scottish private equity firm Aliter Capital has completed its third law firm acquisition in two years, in a move which will see the creation of a new legal group with a headcount of 150 and a combined revenue of £23 million. Full-service firm Orwins will be the new brand for Manchester-based BBS Law, acquired by […]
Threefold increase in solicitors seeking help, Solicitors Charity report finds
Three times as many solicitors sought help with their wellbeing last year than three years ago and increasing numbers of them are women, according to a new report. The Solicitors’ Charity’s Big Report 2025–2026 highlights what it says is increasing demand due to more complex issues related to overlapping pressures across financial, emotional, professional and […]
Journalists win Campaign of the Year award for securing family court transparency
The journalists who overturned a ban on naming judges in the case of 10-year-old Sara Sharif have won this year’s Press Award for Campaign of the Year. Hannah Summers and Louise Tickle were praised by the award’s judges for their “terrific and dogged journalism” in the pursuit of transparency in family courts. Their work was […]
‘Mistakes have been made’ – SRA chair steps down with apology to profession
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) chair Anna Bradley has stepped down after eight years in the role, with the formal process for identifying her successor beginning on 1st June. In a statement published on the SRA website, Bradley said she had seen “very significant change in the legal sector” during her tenure, and it was the […]
Cafcass welcomes Child Focused Courts as central pillar to three year strategic plan
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has published it strategic plan for the next three years building, on its stated commitment that children should be able to say they have experienced an exceptional service wherever they are in the country and every time they engage with someone in the organisation. Sustaining […]
Legal profession can’t afford to wait for cohabitation reform, barrister warns
Decades of legal inaction have left millions of cohabiting couples in England and Wales “dangerously exposed”, a specialist family barrister has warned, and legal professionals should take matters into their own hands when advising clients. Arlene Small (pictured), a specialist family barrister and head of the family team at The Barrister Group, says “the legal […]
Court of Appeal overturns care order that had ‘no workable plan’ for child’s future
A care order has been overturned after the Court of Appeal found a recorder had over-estimated the benefit of parental bonds and had made an order with “no workable plan” for a child’s future. Allowing the local authority’s appeal in L (A Child: Placement and Contact Orders), Lord Justice Peter Jackson also said Recorder Calway had […]
Families already affected by child abduction not protected by new law, family lawyer says
The introduction of legislation criminalising the wrongful retention of children abroad is a welcome development, by a family law solicitor warns the change won’t protect families that are already affected. The newly enacted Crime and Policing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29th April, extends the Child Abduction Act 1984 so that parents who […]