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19 February 2009 / David Dovey
Issue: 7357 / Categories: Features , Child law , Commercial
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Book Reviews

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

The Children Act in Practice

Richard White, AP Carr, Nigel Lowe & Alistair MacDonald

Lexis Nexis, £45.00, ISBN: 9781405725354

This is the fourth edition of this popular work. There are chapters dealing with all aspects of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) and the volume concludes with the authors’ consideration of where family justice is heading in the 21st century. The appendices include a full annotated text of ChA 1989, along with accompanying secondary legislation, the Public Law Outline and experts’ practice direction. The relevant caselaw is summarised and subjects are easy to reference via the clear and comprehensive index.
Baroness Hale is the consulting editor and begins this edition on the Children Act setting out the three fundamental principles of ChA 1989 and concluding that the principle that requires particular emphasis today is that the decisions about the least advantaged home and families should be treated as those of the most advantaged.

This theme runs throughout the book as the authors deal with the Act in detail and explain and include updating caselaw and updating provisions

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Sponsored by
Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
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Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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