header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
23 October 2014 / Ellen Lucas , Caroline Bowden , Kim Beatson
Issue: 7627 / Categories: Features , Legal aid focus , Family
printer mail-detail

Family law in crisis: Pt II

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
beatson

Kim Beatson, Caroline Bowden & Ellen Lucas chart the ongoing chaos in family law proceedings

In February 2014 we reported that cuts to legal aid had thrown family proceedings into chaos (see “Family law in crisis", 10 February 2014). Six months later we are sad to confirm that the chaos continues.

In March 2014 the case of VR (Children: Temporary Leave to Remove from Jurisdiction) [2014] EWHC 643 (Fam), [2014] All ER (D) 165 (Mar) came before His Honour Judge Clifford Bellamy, sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court. Here the mother sought the court’s permission to take the children (aged 7, 6, 4, and 3) on a trip to India to visit relatives. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) refused to fund a report from an expert on Indian family law in spite of repeated directions that the court considered the report to be essential.

The LAA’s blatant disregard of the court case management directions was not the main point

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Joelson—Jennifer Mansoor

Joelson—Jennifer Mansoor

West End firm strengthens employment and immigration team with partner hire

JMW—Belinda Brooke

JMW—Belinda Brooke

Employment and people solutions offering boosted by partner hire

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: CPR tweak closes third-party disclosure gap
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
NLJ this week: Court of Appeals wrestles with Mazur fallout
The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’
NLJ this week: Appeal court reins in ‘wrong defendant’ switcheroo

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

NLJ this week: Driving test fraudsters steer towards jail
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
NLJ this week: Deepfakes demand data law muscle
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll