Family

Two thirds of people are aware that family mediation is an option to help avoid court in the event of divorce or separation, but only 30% would make a family mediator their first port of call.

History was made this week as journalists and legal bloggers were given effective access to all family courts in England and Wales.

The validity of pre-nuptial agreements remains an inexact science. In this week’s NLJ, Mark Pawlowski, barrister and professor emeritus of property law, School of Law, University of Greenwich, examines recent caselaw, including cases involving foreign pre-nups where parties have subsequently sought divorce in the English courts.

To what extent are pre-nuptial agreements now recognised under English law? Mark Pawlowski weighs up the latest decisions

Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, discusses the role that Drug, Alcohol and DNA testing can play in non-court dispute resolution   

Pathfinder or ‘problem-solving’ courts should be rolled out across England and Wales to help meet the government’s aim of halving violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade, Bar chair Barbara Mills KC has urged.

The family courts are increasingly ready to impose costs orders as a result of poor behaviour or misleading evidence, say Stowe Family Law senior associates Siobhan Vegh and Natalie Nero, and solicitor Rebecca Sutton. Writing in this week’s NLJ, Vegh, Nero and Sutton talk us through a recent example, the divorce and financial remedies case, NW v BH.

Family practitioners should be aware of the courts’ increasing readiness to impose costs orders as a result of poor behaviour or misleading evidence: Siobhan Vegh, Natalie Nero & Rebecca Sutton highlight a recent example

Candid camera? Henry Venables highlights the increasing sophistication of spyware in family cases

Family law moved fast last year, with a renewed focus on non-court dispute resolution, more transparency and new protections for domestic abuse victims. And there’s more to come in 2025, as Ruth Omoregie, associate solicitor, and Lola Ajayi, solicitor at Anthony Gold, write in this week’s NLJ.