Mediation

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The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, which gives separating families £500 of mediation, has been extended for another year

Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?

Edward Nyman considers recent themes emerging in cases where parties turn down mediation

The Civil Mediation Council (CMC) has launched a public consultation on a draft Code of Professional Practice for Mediators

Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial

What are the costs penalties when a defendant won’t mediate? Masood Ahmed & Sanjay Dave Singh consider the case law

Increasing numbers of family mediators are cutting back on legal aid work or leaving the sector altogether due to low fees—creating a supply shortfall for low-income families

The government has granted a two-week extension for responses to its consultation on proposals to implement the Singapore Convention on Mediation due to the level of interest received

Economic uncertainty, court delays, dwindling legal aid & rising costs are all aiding the recent rise in the number of financial disputes in divorce cases, writes James Maguire

Mediators should not be celebrating the repeated extension of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, according to Stuart Hanson, an FMC-accredited mediator, professional practice consultant and legal aid internal supervisor at Direct Mediation Services.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions

NEWS

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NLJ this week: Burnout behind the billable hour

Behind the profession’s polished exterior, lawyers are ‘internally drained rather than physically tired’, according to a stark assessment of burnout in legal practice

NLJ this week: Domestic abuse reforms still falling short

Five years after the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force, concerns remain that the family courts continue to minimise allegations of abuse in child contact disputes

NLJ this week: Uber’s legal shield faces scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic

Uber has built a formidable strategy for insulating itself from liability for drivers’ conduct, but the legal terrain differs sharply between the US and England and Wales

NLJ this week: Hereditary peers era finally comes to an end

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 marks a constitutional watershed by severing the centuries-old link between hereditary titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber

NLJ this week: Is it finally time to scrap Part III?

The Civil Justice Council’s review of Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 could mark the end of what one commentator calls an ‘outdated’ and overly technical regime governing solicitor-client fee disputes

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Mediation

MOVERS & SHAKERS

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth