Finance & Divorce Update – Family Law Week

Posted December 8th, 2014 in children, costs, divorce, foreign jurisdictions, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

‘Jessica Craigs, senior solicitor of Mills & Reeve LLP analyses the financial remedies and divorce news and cases published by Family Law Week during November.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 5th December 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

‘Better than nothing… helpful… mad as a bag of frogs’: judges on McKenzie Friends –

Posted December 5th, 2014 in family courts, litigants in person, McKenzie friends, news, reports by sally

‘A new report on litigants in person in private family law cases has added to concerns over the value and legitimacy of McKenzie Friends in the legal services market. The report, commissioned and published by the Ministry of Justice, into litigants in person in the family courts (here) found the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s recommendation that professional McKenzie Friends be recognised as a legitimate part of the market (reported here) ‘somewhat surprising’.’

Full story

LegalVoice, 4th December 2014

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Speech to the Bar Conference – Nicholas Lavender QC, Chairman of the Bar Council

Speech to the Bar Conference (PDF)

Nicholas Lavender QC, Chairman of the Bar Council

The Bar Council, 8th November 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Dyson: miscarriages of justice likely since LASPO – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Master of the rolls Lord Dyson has told MPs that an increase in litigants in person has caused miscarriages of justice.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 1st December 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Better late than never: MoJ finally publishes report on litigants in person – Legal Futures

Posted December 1st, 2014 in litigants in person, Ministry of Justice, news, reports by tracey

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has finally published a report it commissioned on litigants in person (LiPs) – more than a year after it was submitted. The report examined the experiences of LiPs in private law family cases before the legal aid cuts in April 2013, to assess their impact and help shape future policy.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 28th November 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Southwark: Not appealing – NearlyLegal

‘It is not unknown for losing parties in a case to not be happy, indeed very upset. There are two basic options. To shut up and put up with it, or appeal. Rather unusually, faced with one of the most coruscating High Court judgments I can recall, in AA V LB Southwark [our report here], the senior officers of Southwark Council have chosen to do neither. Instead, Southwark’s Housing and Communities Strategic Director has chosen to publicly announce that the judgment was ‘unjust’ and ‘clearly wrong’, but that Southwark aren’t going to appeal it.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 25th November 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Appeal court judge ‘horrified’ at number of litigants without lawyers – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2014 in barristers, budgets, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

‘A court of appeal judge has said she is “horrified” at the number of unrepresented litigants and warned that the delays caused will “clog up” the justice system.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Employment tribunal did research on Wikipedia “to help litigant in person” – Litigation Futures

‘An employment tribunal which decided to carry out its own internet research, apparently to help a litigant in person, has been condemned by Mr Justice Langstaff, president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 20th November 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

‘Wholly antiquated’: lord chief justice on court technology – LegalVoice

‘Our “antiquated” courts faced “severe crisis” without significant investment, the lord chief justice said yesterday. Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd offered journalists a judicial perspective on the financial pressures being imposed upon the courts at his annual press conference.’

Full story

LegalVoice, 13th November 2014

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Is having a ‘friend’ for your day in court a good thing? – BBC News

Posted November 10th, 2014 in litigants in person, McKenzie friends, news by sally

‘If you were in the desperate position of needing brain surgery, would you be content for someone with no medical training, but who had seen quite a few brain operations, to carry out yours?

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BBC News, 10th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Legal aid cuts denied mother a fair hearing, says senior judge – The Guardian

‘A senior family court judge has condemned the injustice of the newly pared-back legal aid system after an illiterate mother of four, with poor sight and hearing, was forced to represent herself in a court hearing over the custody of her children.’

Full story

The Guardian, 2nd November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Parents speak of legal fight for children without a lawyer – BBC News

Posted October 14th, 2014 in arbitration, custody, legal representation, litigants in person, news by sally

‘”My daughter started school last month and I don’t even know what school she goes to.”

These are the words of a father who has not seen his daughter, now aged four, for two years.’

Full story

BBC News, 13th October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Denial of legal aid in Court of Protection cases “a false economy”, says judge – Local Government Lawyer

‘Denying individuals legal aid for complex Court of Protection cases is a false economy, a High Court judge has warned.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th October 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Domestic violence victims are being forced to face abusers in court ordeal, lawyers warn – The Independent

‘Growing numbers of domestic violence victims are being quizzed by their former partners in court due to cuts in legal aid which have led to a rise in litigation-in-person cases, family law specialists are warning.’

Full story

The Independent, 5th October 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

A mortgage without a valid mortgage deed – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted September 24th, 2014 in estoppel, litigants in person, mortgages, news, repossession, trusts by sally

‘There have been a number of attempts by those facing repossession and worse at the hands of mortgage lenders to dispute the validity of the claims against them on the basis of a failure to comply with the necessary legal formalities. Mortgage lenders typically send a mortgage offer letter that they invite their borrower to sign. Often the mortgage lender does not formally sign the offer letter. At the time of an advance there is usually a mortgage deed which is often signed by the borrower not the lender.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 10th September 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Bar Council report claims LASPO 2012 damages access to justice – The Bar Council

Posted September 18th, 2014 in barristers, civil justice, costs, delay, family courts, legal aid, litigants in person, reports by tracey

‘The Bar Council has today published a report, based on interviews and a survey of legal practitioners, assessing the impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 on our system of justice a year after implementation in April 2013.’

Full report

The Bar Council, 18th September 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Judiciary needs fast-track scheme to boost diversity, says top judge – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2014 in diversity, judges, judiciary, law firms, litigants in person, news by tracey

‘A career judiciary with fast-track promotion to higher courts may be required to overcome lack of diversity on the bench, the UK’s most senior judge has suggested.’

Full story

The Guardian, 17th September 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Family courts unfair for litigants in person, MPs told – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 5th, 2014 in budgets, family courts, legal aid, litigants in person, news, select committees by tracey

‘Litigants in person are not getting fair hearings, the Common’s Justice Committee heard this morning.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 2nd September 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Legal aid cut for family courts ‘damaging’ for children – BBC News

Posted September 2nd, 2014 in children, delay, family courts, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

‘Children are being damaged by the rising number of estranged couples representing themselves in family court battles, a former judge has claimed.’

Full story

BBC News, 2nd September 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme Court refuses to hear litigant-in-person negligence appeal – Litigation Futures

Posted August 28th, 2014 in appeals, autism, litigants in person, negligence, news, solicitors, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from a litigant in person who sued her solicitors for negligence and whose claim included the grounds that she suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 28th August 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com