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02 February 2012
Issue: 7499 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Civil way: 3 Feb 2012

The austerity plan from 1 April 2012 is to restrict the opening of public counters at all county courts and Family Proceedings Centres...

“KEEP OUT!”

The austerity plan from 1 April 2012 is to restrict the opening of public counters at all county courts and Family Proceedings Centres located within county courts to two hours a day between 11am and 1pm. Even then, attention will only be given to urgent applications and work which is deemed to require a face to face service. The plan is out for consultation in which the judiciary will be active, concluding on 12 March 2012, but the writer will eat the shredded pages of his occupational pension arrangement if it is not implemented albeit sometimes in varied form to cater for local needs and specialist jurisdictions. So, for example, a user wishing to issue a divorce petition will be asked to leave it in the relevant drop box and will receive paperwork in the post but administering affidavits or collecting orders following an urgent hearing will be dealt

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
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?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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