header-logo header-logo

Family law in crisis: Pt II

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

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll