Government’s new strategy to protect children from sexual abuse
The Government has published a new nationwide strategy in a bid to protect children from all forms of child sexual abuse. The ‘Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy’ sets out our whole-system response to all forms of child sexual abuse to stop offenders. In regards to details of the strategy, The Home Office state: “This strategy […]
Lockdown set to continue till March
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has stated that the national lockdown will remain in effect until early March at the earliest, as the UK comes to terms with the news that we have surpassed 100,000 deaths. During Prime Minister’s Querstions, he told the House of Commons that schools would be the first part of society to […]
Caroline Corby resigns from Cafcass Board
It has been reported on the Cafcass website that Caroline Corby has resigned from the Cafcass Board, having served since December 2014, most recently as Interim Deputy Chair since March 2020. She is also Chair of the Cafcass Performance and Quality Committee and these roles will now be taken up by other experienced members of […]
New AML Guidance needs a careful review
With the release of draft guidance on anti-money laundering guidance on 20 January 2021, there has been a furry of conversation about what this means. Amy Bell from Teal Compliance, has shared her recent blog with the readers of Today’s Family Lawyer to share her thoughts on the new draft guidance. Since 2017 LSAG have […]
International Divorce Investigations
Hiding assets and not disclosing full details of wealth attracts serious penalties in the UK, including contempt of court, potential imprisonment and perjury. However; the penalties are rarely enforced, which results in many people hiding their marital wealth from their spouse, or civil partner, prior to launching divorce proceedings. The financially weaker party is then […]
Legal sector helped with new AML guidance
The Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG), which includes all UK legal sector professional bodies and supervisors, has completed an extensive revision and redraft of its anti-money laundering (AML) guidance. This replaces previous versions of the guidance and is currently pending approval by HM Treasury, although the guidance is currently available in draft form. This draft […]
Legal service workers will work extra 20 days when working from home
Law firms are gaining the equivalent of an extra 20 working days a year from employees putting in longer shifts when they work from home, according to new research from Atlas Cloud. The research reveals that by working from home during the Coronavirus pandemic, instead of commuting to an office, employees in the sector are saving an […]
A Quick Guide to Cohabitation in England/Wales and Scotland
Following the Villiers decision, reinvigorating forum shopping (Villiers v Villiers [2020] UKSC 30), and with the implications of Brexit now a reality, family law practitioners must ensure that they are aware of the significant differences in family law between England/Wales and Scotland. This article identifies some of the differences between the two jurisdictions when considering […]
Mother of two wins stake in £8m property empire
A mother of two children has won a legal battle by claiming a slice of a £8 million property empire against her ex-partner who was in prison for 20 years. While behind bars, for two decades, Mr Collins sent letters promising that she would have a stake in the property portfolio. Nicola Oberman, 53, took […]
Baroness Hale – ‘This is Your Life’ Webinar Interview
Professor Dame Hazel Genn will be interviewed by Baroness Halle in a special ‘This is your Life’ event to explore the highlights of her career to date and her thoughts on the future. This event will be looking in particular at the importance of the judiciary for equal societies, how we can tackle structural inequalities […]
Movers and Shakers – 22 Jan 2021
A new year, often means a new start, and here at Today’s Family Lawyer, we wanted to share with you the good news we’ve had within in the industry of professionals joining firms and those who have moved up the promotional ladder. This week we’ve seen the following announcements with regards to appointments and promotions: […]
Cafcass publishes updated guidance on working with children through Covid-19
Cafcass has published updated guidance which outlines the arrangements that are currently being made for Family Court Advisers to see children and families, work in Cafcass offices and attend court. The Cafcass guidance has been updated due to the current Government national lockdown restrictions which have been put in place. This guidance will continue to […]
Family mediation – challenges and opportunities in a pandemic
The past year has caused each of us to reflect on what is most important in our lives. Family. Friends. Freedom. It has also made us look forward, to life post-pandemic; and this, along with the pressures of lockdown, home-schooling, and everything else 2020 had to chuck at us, has understandably resulted in lots of […]
Too early to think about PII renewals?
Our ‘Technical Corner’ brings you information that will help you to continue to grow and develop in your career. This month’s technical corner article comes from Paul Saunders, Managing Director at Legal Eye If you have any questions for our panel of experts, please submit them using the contact form below. We will publish the […]
Guidance on online financial remedy services
HM Courts and Tribunal Services have provided online financial remedy services guides for family law professionals. The guides describes the steps on how to use online financial remedy services using MyHMCTS platform. These guides describe the steps you need to use for financial remedy. The two guides provided are: Onboarding guidance – consent Onboarding guidance […]
Parental disputes over childhood vaccinations
Now that we are in lockdown 3, many separated parents have managed to establish a routine and ground rules to enable their children to move between their two homes, perhaps even between two countries. However, the roll out of the vaccine brings a potential new area of dispute, which the family court dealt with recently […]
Guidance for all court and tribunal users during outbreak
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have provided advice and guidance for all court and tribunal users during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Contents include: -HMCTS response to coronavirus outbreak -Working towards recovery -Coming to court or tribunal during the coronavirus outbreak -Getting advice -Assessing and managing coronavirus risk -Public Health experts […]
Money laundering fines reach record high
HMRC has issued a record £23.8m worth of fines for organisations breaching and or ignoring money laundering regulations. Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Economic Crime, Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC said: “Businesses who fail to comply with the money laundering regulations leave themselves, and the UK economy, open to attacks by criminals. “Money laundering is not […]
Top Tips in creating a robust risk management framework
In this short video Legal Eye shares five tips for ensuring that your risk management system is up to date and fit for purpose in order to protect your law firm. This article was submitted to be published by Legal Eye as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Family Lawyer. The views expressed in […]
Divorce & Trusts – has the pandemic changed marriage & family?
With news stories of surges in divorce enquiries, there can be no doubt that Covid has impacted on married couples and family life. The implications of life in lockdown has been a strain on many households. Families have found themselves forced into situations where they may be working from home together, bringing work pressures to […]