Annual Practising Certificate Fee consultation survey launched
The Law Society has launched its member survey on the Practising Certificate Fee (PC fee) for 2021/22. The survey continues the consultation on the PC fee and business plan which began on 10 May and has already involved proactive discussions with groups of members to get their feedback. As a response to the challenges solicitors […]
Cyber Security spend on the rise as it becomes more important than ever
Since the pandemic and the rise of people working from home, cyber criminals have had to adapt to their new environment prior to launching a cyber attack. The UK Government estimates that the cost of cyber crime is £27bn a year. The latest data released in the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report shows that organisations are […]
The New Way of Working for Family Law Solicitors
How solicitors work has changed—and it could be for the better for you and your firm. For a lot of lawyers, family law solicitors included, it was previously unthinkable that it was possible to work from home. The past two years have shown that it’s not just possible but very manageable for solicitors and other […]
The Parenting Apart Programme Workshops – CPD Accredited
The Parenting Apart Programme are offering Workshops to enhance your skills and knowledge when Working With Parental Conflict – they also have two other Workshops to help professionals with identifying Safeguarding In Divorce and Child Development. Learning Outcomes Unpack the complexities of relationships and communication Develop a robust understanding of conflict and its causes Consider […]
SRA Chair reappointed for three-year term
Anna Bradley has been reappointed as the Chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Board for a second three-year term. Anna will be the SRA Chair until December 2024, having originally taken up the post in January 2019. Her reappointment was confirmed by an independent panel chaired by Elizabeth Filkin CBE. During her tenure as […]
Law firm diversity – are you ready for this years’ survey?
The bi-annual Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) diversity survey will be run in late Summer this year; the last survey took place in 2019 and saw 96% of firms reporting their data from more than 186,000 people in 9,500 firms. As with the previous survey, there has been slight changes to some of the questions, these […]
HMCTS operational position: weekly summary update
HMCTS have updated their operational summary for week commencing Monday 24th May 2021. Updated: We actively encourage our staff and all court users to support their local authorities by taking part in surge testing in areas affected by variants of concern. We also strongly encourage everyone to continue with twice-weekly asymptomatic rapid testing regardless of […]
Junior lawyers must be supported as the profession looks to a hybrid return to the office
New guidance on how to supervise and support junior staff and trainees via hybrid and flexible working models as firms and organisations look to return to the office has been unveiled by the Law Society of England and Wales. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “Since March 2020, solicitors have been working and supervising […]
Further expansion for Simpson Millar Family Law team with triple hire in Manchester
Simpson Millar has announced the appointment of Cara Nuttall as a new Family Law Partner in a move which furthers the firm’s ambitious expansion plans for 2021. Cara is joined by experienced Senior Associate, Jo-Anna Jellings and Solicitor, Joe Ailion. Joining from Manchester-based solicitors JMW, Cara and her team specialise in domestic and international surrogacy, […]
Inquiry is set up in relation to rights of cohabiting partners
An Inquiry has been set up in relation to the rights of cohabiting partners due to a widespread perception that cohabiting partners have similar or identical rights to those who are married or in a civil partnership. The Women and Equalities Committee will be investigating the equalities issues around cohabitation, how cohabitation rights could be […]
Gates divorce move could boost children’s inheritance
Following the news of their divorce, the battle lines have been drawn further between Bill and Melinda Gates, as the billonaire’s estranged wife looks to increase her children’s inheritance of $10m each. Melinda has hired top trust and estate lawyers to her legal team, as the assets – worth $130bn – she shares with her […]
Cafcass latest monthly statistics reveal rising new cases
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), who represent children in family court cases in England, have released their monthly statistics for April 2021. Overall summary Total new case demand in April was in line with pre-pandemic levels. In April 2021, Cafcass received 4,980 new cases (27.1% or 1,061 more cases than April […]
Fertility treatments : Are our laws fit for purpose?
Hollie Orgee, a senior solicitor at the Stowe Family Law office in Birmingham, discusses technology conception fertility treatments and whether our family laws are fit for purpose. Lockdowns, social restrictions and changes to how we live, coupled with financial, health and employment concerns, have had a dramatic impact on those women looking to start a […]
New tool to help firms achieve Cyber Essentials accreditation
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way cyber criminals target those they want to exploit. With this in mind, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has launched the Cyber Essentials Readiness Tool which helps firms prepare themselves for Cyber Essentials certification. The tool has been developed by IASME and asks firms a series of questions […]
Connect, build and engage – LinkedIn has it all
We hosted the second in our series of content marketing webinars last Thursday and it was all about LinkedIn. We were so excited to welcome guest speaker along Rich Dibbins from Staxton Digital. Rich has many years’ experience within law firm marketing and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to LinkedIn, so it was […]
Inheritance Tax Law – the struggles of the Samsung Chairman
This article is written by Paul Fairbairn and Victoria Symons, Partners at Cripps Pemberton Greenish The family of the late Samsung Electronics chairman, Lee Kun-hee, has made headlines recently after his estate was told it will have to pay more than 12trn Won ($10.78bn) in inheritance taxes – a record amount. South Korea has one […]
Webinar: Create a winning website for your Family Law firm
When trying to find a solicitor who specialises in family law, many people’s first step is an internet search. While word-of-mouth referrals are still common, increasingly clients are finding their solicitor online. If you wish to compete in this more online world, your website needs to hit the right mark. To find out if yours […]
More couples discuss what they would do if they won the lottery
than how they would co-parent their children in the event of separation Fegans, a charity which provides professional children’s counselling and parenting support services, is backing a campaign by the Positive Parenting Alliance which aims to promote conversation and a change in the UK culture around divorce and separation. Over 100,000 marriages in the UK […]
Current provision of Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes
Prior to the pandemic, the family justice system was under enormous pressure with increases in numbers across all areas of public and private family law. After over a year of working with the constraints of the pandemic, the system finds itself with significant backlogs, in certain types of work. The provision of Domestic Abuse Perpetrator […]
HMCTS operational position: weekly summary update
HMCTS have updated their operational summary for week commencing Monday 17th May 2021. We encourage all users to access testing available to them. Home tests are now available from all English and Welsh courts and tribunal sites and will be offered to all professional court users, legal professionals, judiciary, contractors, jurors, witness services and staff […]