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06 August 2009 / Lucy Theis KC
Issue: 7381 / Categories: Opinion , Family
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Lamentable bad practice

At a time of heightened public concern about issues concerning child protection, it is more important than ever, and clearly in the public interest, that those solicitors and barristers with expertise in representing the interests of vulnerable families and children are not driven away from undertaking this work.

At a time of heightened public concern about issues concerning child protection, it is more important than ever, and clearly in the public interest, that those solicitors and barristers with expertise in representing the interests of vulnerable families and children are not driven away from undertaking this work.

That is the risk being taken by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and this government in driving through ill thought out family fee reforms.

On behalf of the many specialist family barristers I represent, I have made it clear that we do not seek more money; what we seek are two things:

(i) a properly graduated advocacy scheme that does not over-reward the less complex cases at the expense of the more complex cases—this will hopefully stem the

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A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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