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31 October 2019 / Vijay Ganapathy , Claire Spearpoint
Issue: 7862 / Categories: Features , Personal injury , Damages , Family
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Keeping it in the family

Vijay Ganapathy & Claire Spearpoint discuss the role family members can play in legal proceedings involving their relatives
  • Legal proceedings, funding and proportionality in the family courts.

Recent judgments have highlighted some of the challenges faced by families who advance or take part in legal proceedings arising from the loss of a family member. This is particularly so in inquests where the procedural complexity and having to hear upsetting details about their relative’s death in court, makes the whole process incredibly strenuous for families.

In cases where there is some suspicion of negligence or other breach, many families seek legal representation to guide them through this process, help them find answers about the cause of death and, where possible, prevent the same thing happening again. However, obtaining funding can be difficult. Some may be eligible for legal aid, but this can only be obtained in a small proportion of cases and even where funding is granted, its scope is limited. Crowdfunding is another option, but not everyone

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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