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17 June 2020
Issue: 7891 / Categories: Media Partners , Features , Family , ADR , Profession
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Could “Alternative” be the new norm in Family Law?

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The Family Online Mediation and Arbitration Service (FOMAS

Although an option for dealing with family disputes for a number of years, uptake has been relatively low. There are of course obvious reasons for this such as the perceived high cost of Private FDRs and Arbitration, reluctance to move away from traditional court proceedings and a general lack of detailed understanding of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) options.

Prior to the Covid19 pandemic, the family courts in England and Wales were already under significant pressure and parties were subject to lengthy delays in getting a hearing date. Unfortunately, due to Covid19 pandemic these delays can be expected to increase. Therefore, there is now a further increased importance in parties attempting to resolve their financial and children disputes via ADR, thus saving valuable court time for cases involving vulnerable people or where judicial intervention is necessary.

It was with these points in mind that The Family Online Mediation and Arbitration Service (FOMAS) set its

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
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 
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
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
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’
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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