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31 July 2009 / James Pirrie
Issue: 7380 / Categories: Features , Family , ADR
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Follow the (ADR) crowd

Global meltdown presents practitioners with a great opportunity for ADR, says James Pirrie

Practitioners are caught in a conundrum. How can we drive towards a clean break by capitalising maintenance when we don’t know if clients will have a job in a year’s time, let alone the bonus that used to make up so substantial a part of the fmaily’s income?

Even if we pass this hurdle, then the Duxbury assumptions—even as updated—seem a crude structure for long-term prediction in the light of recent fluctuations.

For most people “separation” means disposing of assets to fund different lives going forward. However, in the current climate, disposal is difficult to achieve—family homes won’t sell, clients are reluctant to sell share-holdings that they insist are below their true value—holiday homes may be unsellable at any figure.

Even if clients are prepared to borrow to move things forward, the funding is unlikely to be provided in the sort of amounts needed.

Three-stage separation

What has happened in consequence is that a new chapter of separation has

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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