Judgement Given On The Use Of Inherent Jurisdiction
This week saw the much-awaited judgement from the Supreme Court regarding the use of inherent jurisdiction regarding the re-location of a child. Brief background to the case The original case was one where a married couple with their young child (aged 2) had moved to the UK from Israel, looking for a fresh start for their failing […]
6% Of Law Firms Protect Their Money Transfers
Law firms are failing in their efforts to tackle the rising risk of cyber crime. Even with £millions continuing to be fraudulently redirected, with the associated reputational impact and knock on effect on professional indemnity insurance premiums, most law firms have not implemented even the most basic cyber security measures. The research has been undertaken […]
Simpson Millar Announces Major Family Law Hire
The law firm, Simpson Millar has announced the appointment of David Lister as its new National Head of Family Law in a move that will ‘significantly strengthen’ its private client offering across the country. The appointment represents a real coup for Simpson Millar, as Lister joins from one of the UK’s largest full-service firms which […]
Family Courts Encouraged To Cooperate With Reporters
Family courts have been encouraged to cooperate with reporters in a bid to become more transparent. Sir Andrew McFarlane, head of the Family Division, has released his final guidance on how courts should deal with applications from reporters wishing to report on family cases. “Courts should be astute to assist reporters seeking to attend a hearing, […]
Support Needed For Family Professionals Undergoing Fertility Treatment
In the wake of National Fertility Week, a recent survey revealed that just two in five UK employees said they felt supported by their managers when experiencing fertility problems or undergoing fertility treatment. In the poll of 4,000 UK employees, of approximately 1,000 staff who had endured fertility issues, 51% said they needed to take […]
Remain Compliant And Reduce AML Administration With Thirdfort Technology
Do you carry out ID and source of funds checks? Join Lawyer Checker and Thirdfort for a free webinar on how Thirdfort can reduce your law firm’s anti-money laundering (AML) administration. Thirdfort is the latest in Lawyer Checkers innovative suite of products helping to defend law firms against the persistent threats lurking in the legal […]
The Greatest Financial Risks For Women
While women are increasingly better educated than men, they earn less, feel less financially secure, provide the bulk of unpaid care, have smaller pensions, face greater hardship in later life and struggle to pay for their own old-age care a new report has found. A report published by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), has found that […]
Amount Of Newborn Babies Under Care Proceedings In Wales Increases
An analysis of the number of newborns and infants in the family justice system in Wales has found that between 2015 and 2018, the number of newborn babies subject to care proceedings has more than doubled to 83 cases per 10,000 births subject to proceedings before they are two weeks old. Although the increase has been seen across all areas of […]
The Difference Between Call Handling And Enquiry Handling
In our first blog, Sarah Brocklebank of The Move Exchange considered how the person who answers the phone in your business positively or negatively affects the caller, and how we might be able to influence and measure that. In our second blog Sarah considers the difference between call handling and enquiry handling and how we […]
The Benefits Of Arbitration In Family Law
Further to our coverage of the Birmingham Law Society’s Bi-annual Family Law Conference, we look at the talk by Nicholas Allen QC regarding the benefits of arbitration over litigation. There are many known benefits to arbitration in every area of law, not just that of commercial or business. Family law is showing increasing numbers of […]
Case of Mediation Increasing But The Court System Still Under Strain
The latest figures from the MoJ has shown increases in the number of mediation assessments for the quarter April – September 2019. Figures released have shown a 14% increase from the last quarter in the amount of Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs) but this is still much lower than the pre-LASPO levels. There was […]
Are You Ready For Pro Bono Week?
This year’s Pro Bono week is taking place on the 4th – 8th November 2019. This is the 18th year the week has been recognised. The week is designed to provide an opportunity to encourage and recognise the voluntary contribution of lawyers in giving free legal help to those in need. There are four key […]
Better Access To Legal Aid For Separated Migrant Children
Today saw a new Government legislation amendment allowing vulnerable migrant children, separated from their parents, to get quicker and simpler access to Legal Aid. The Legal Aid for Separated Children Order 2019 has allowed non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters to come under the scope of Legal Aid for under 18s that are not in the […]
LSB Urge Family Law Specialists To Embrace Blockchain
The Legal Services Board (LSB) is encouraging more legal services regulators to promote the uptake of Blockchain technology by regulated firms. Research conducted by the LSB has found that only 2% of legal service providers have started using Blockchain technology whilst only 5% of all legal service providers have already made, or plan to make […]
Government Announces Programmes To Improve Support For Care Leavers
A new multi–million pound scheme looks to improve access to better housing, healthcare and employment opportunities for vulnerable young people leaving care. After his recent announcement regarding funding towards adoption support, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson today announced the new support available, along with a £19 million investment into programmes that directly benefit care leavers. The new cross-party […]
New Support For Survivors Of Domestic Abuse
This week the Government confirmed that local authorities will have a duty to deliver life-saving support to survivors of domestic abuse, ending a postcode lottery for those ‘fleeing violent relationships’. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed that from 2021 there will be a new legal requirement on every council to provide support to victims of […]
Abortion Decriminalised And Same Sex Marriages Legalised In Northern Ireland
There was monumental change in legislation in Northern Ireland on Tuesday 22nd October. When the clock struck midnight, changes to legislation saw abortion decriminalised, enabling women in the country to terminate a pregnancy without the fear of being prosecuted. The change in law also saw the possibility of prosecution being lifted from healthcare workers. Between […]
Managing Serious And Complex Sexual Abuse Allegations
Continuing our coverage of the speakers at the Bi-annual Family Law Conference by the Birmingham Law Society, today we look at the talk given by Richard Hadley a barrister at No5 Chambers. Mr Hadley, a specialist in matters of law relating to children, has represented many local authorities through the county in some of the […]
A Look Into The Public Law Working Group Recommendations In The Family Justice Systems
Continuing our coverage of the Bi-Annual Family Law Conference by the Birmingham Law Society, we look at the key issues raised by speaker Lord Justice (LJ) Mr Keehan. Mr Keehan LJ led an interdisciplinary Working Group into the functioning of public family law that published its interim findings in June 2019. With 57 recommended actions […]
Summer Case Law Update (July – September 2019)
As British politics increasingly fell into disarray over the summer, the appeal courts soldiered on impassively with some interesting cases reaching the High Court and the Court of Appeal (let’s leave the Supreme Court to one side…). Although the wheel has not been re-invented, these cases should be invaluable to any practitioner who wants to remain on top of current trends. […]