Family Law Newsletter – Spire Barristers
‘Articles from around the web, Legislation updates and Case Updates from Care Proceedings and Financial Remedy matters.’
Spire Barristers, February 10th 2022
Source: spirebarristers.co.uk
Category: family courts
Alcohol tests: blood, hair, different types, what’s best and what can throw the results – Family Law
‘An individual’s drinking behaviour is an important factor in many family law cases, with a variety of measures used to test for chronic and excessive alcohol consumption.’
Family Law, 4th February 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Financial Remedy Update, February 2022 – Family Law Week
‘Sue Brookes, Principle Associate and Nicola Rowlings, Professional Support Lawyer, at Mills & Reeve LLP consider the most important news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during January 2022.’
Family Law Week, 3rd February 2022
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Financial Remedy Update, January 2022 – Family Law Week
‘Stephanie Hawthorn and Abigail Pearse, associates, and Rob Jackson, trainee solicitor, at Mills & Reeve LLP consider the most important news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during December 2021.’
Family Law Week, 19th January 2022
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Recent case highlights need for law reform in forced/predatory marriage – Family Law
‘Predatory or forced marriages faced by individuals (usually elderly) whose mental capacity is in doubt or who are vulnerable to undue influence remain an open wound for many families.’
Family Law, 12th January 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
What does a ‘good’ divorce look like when are you dealing with the finances? – Family Law
‘I asked clients, colleagues and an IFA specialising in divorce what they thought a “good” financial settlement looked like. The common thread in their answers was not, as you might expect, that it’s about winning. A “good” divorce, where the finances are concerned, is about realism and moving forward.’
Family Law, 12th January 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Child Law Update – Local Government Lawyer
‘Michael Jones reviews some of the most signifcant public law children cases of 2021.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th January 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Balancing transparency and confidentiality ‘really difficult’ – McFarlane – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Greater transparency is necessary for the public to have confidence in the family justice system but balancing openness with confidentiality will be “really difficult”, the president of the Family Division told MPs today.’
Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2022
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
The Farquhar Committee and the Future of the Financial Remedies Court – Family Law
’23 March 2020 will be etched in the mind of generations. It was the day which brought unprecedented change to the way the world worked, not least the operation of the justice system and access to justice. Like many areas of law, the Financial Remedies Court [‘FRC’], was not prepared for the sudden and abrupt suspension of attended hearings, yet advances in technology quickly enabled the FRC to get back to work, albeit, at least to begin with, in a totally alien way for many. The use of remote hearings as a way of administering justice has now been the norm for over 20 months, and as the world begins to cautiously ‘get back to normal’, the question on the minds of all those practicing within the FRC is “what does the new normal look like?”’
Family Law, 7th January 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Children: Public Law Update (Winter 2022) – Family Law Week
‘John Tughan QC of 4PB considers recent judgments that public law child lawyers need to know about.’
Family Law Week, 7th January 2022
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Funder refused permission to use privileged material in ‘fraud’ claim – Legal Futures
‘The High Court has refused a litigation funder’s bid to use privileged material to overturn a divorce settlement which it says deliberately provides no assets for the wife to pay the £1m she owes it.’
Legal Futures, 4th January 2022
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
The power of words: project aims to change the language of family law – Legal Futures
‘A project seeks to make family law easier to understand and less hostile – between both parties and lawyers – has been launched by a London solicitor.’
Legal Future, 9th December 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Raab eyes “drastic action” to keep family disputes out of court – Legal Futures
‘Justice secretary Dominic Raab is “in the market for something quite drastic and bold” to reduce the number of private law family cases in the courts, he said yesterday.’
Legal Futures, 1st December 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Blueprint for family court monitoring mechanism unveiled – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A monitoring mechanism to improve the family court’s response to domestic abuse will be piloted next spring, the domestic abuse commissioner and victims commissioner have revealed.’
Law Society's Gazette, 29th November 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Increased transparency in the family courts to be the way forward – Family Law
‘On 29 October 2021 the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, published a report with his conclusions on the issue of transparency in the family courts. His view is clear: it is possible to enhance public confidence in the family courts whilst also safeguarding the privacy of the families and the children who turn to the courts for protection and resolution. Increased transparency in the family courts is plainly a top priority for the President; it should be the “new norm”.’
Family Law, 26th November 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Judges publishing porn – Transparency Project
‘On 24 November 2021, approximately 3 years after the publication of detailed anonymisation guidance warning against the publication of overly graphic sexual content in judgments, and almost a month after publication of the Transparency Review, which echoes the same issue and indicates the need for an Anonymisation Unit – a family court judge has published a judgment which is, basically, pornographic in content.’
Transparency Project, 24th November 2021
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
Acting for both sides “may become the norm” in divorce work – Legal Futures
‘A future where lawyers act for both sides of divorces as a matter of course and others exit regulation to offer a new kind of service has been sketched out by Resolution.’
Legal Futures, 23rd November 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Father’s court battle to save daughter from cult’s clutches – BBC News
‘A dad who went to court to save his daughter from the clutches of a cult has told BBC’s File on 4 programme the groups have been ripping families apart. The programme has spoken to experts who claimed there were as many as 2,000 suspected cults active in the UK, with some recruiting university students.’
BBC News, 23rd November 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
More Transparency in the Financial Remedies Court – Transparency Project
‘Hard on the heels of the CONSULTATION ON A PROPOSAL FOR A STANDARD REPORTING PERMISSION ORDER IN FINANCIAL REMEDY PROCEEDINGS published by Mostyn J and HHJ Hess, the FRC Lead Judges, and animated by the same acknowledgement of the need for more transparency in FRC, come two important judgments by Mostyn J on the same subject: BT v CU [2021] EWFC 87, paras 100-114, and, in quick succession, A v M [2021] EWFC 89, paras 101-106.’
Transparency Project, 16th November 2021
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
Divorce can feel like a death, but what happens if the person you are divorcing actually passes away? – Family Law
‘It is often said that going through a divorce is similar to suffering a bereavement. However, what happens if the person you are divorcing actually dies midway through that process?’
Family Law, 12th November 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
