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Cuts both ways

25 September 2015
Issue: 7669 / Categories: Features , Family , ADR
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Pauline Fowler visits the options for separating & divorcing couples

Couples separating or divorcing face a myriad of different financial and practical problems: arrangements for their children, the appropriate division of their assets, suitable housing, sorting out income resources, to name the most obvious. Their legal position in England and Wales depends on the legal status of their relationship, and for the growing number of international couples in this jurisdiction there are complex technical questions of jurisdiction. For some, there are religious and cultural issues to address.

The traditional method of addressing these problems still holds good for many couples—they each consult solicitors and matters are resolved through lawyer led negotiation or court proceedings and most commonly a mixture of the two. However, since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) came into force on 1 April 2013 and effectively wiped out legal aid for family law (save for care proceedings and in a limited way for domestic violence cases) the court service has visibly struggled with the vast increase in litigants in person.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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