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29 March 2024 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8065 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 29 March & 5 April 2024

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Latest FPR update; CPR update worth a miss; Supreme junior advocacy; Medway goes to Maidstone

FIRST FOR FAMILY

FPR update no 1 of 2024 is here (published after much was claimed to be already in force, but, as with cuckolded spouses, the punters can be the last to know). This set me thinking that if the FPR update titles were given a similar appellation to the CPR—this would mean, for example ‘120th Practice Direction update’—there would be a saving of four characters and, hence, an economy in space, cartridge ink, typing, etc, and maybe the plan announced with the spring budget to demote HMCTS mail to second-class postage, so that it never actually arrives, could be ditched. Discuss.

As already reported (see ‘Civil way’, NLJ, 19 January 2024), family judges’ attempts to force non-court-based dispute resolution (NCDR) down the throats of warring parties is being aided and abetted as from 29 April 2024 by their power to require the filing and service of a form that

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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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NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
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’ 
NLJ this week: Family law urged to ditch adversarial instincts
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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