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11 September 2009 / David Burrows
Issue: 7384 / Categories: Features , Mediation , Family
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Mediative adjudication

Mediative, co-operative justice would benefit all parties and protect the legal aid budget, says David Burrows

In the week that, in this country, legal aid was 60 years old and mediation a mere 30 NLJ had at least four articles on, or relevant to, mediation.
Two family lawyers—family lawyers are to the fore of mediation efforts in this country—led: James Pirrie on collaborative law matters, while Geraldine Morris of LexisPSL and Resolution (a group of family lawyers) explained the fundamental principles of mediation.

Joy Davies looked forward to the next 20 years of “civil and commercial mediation”, and the law reports covered AF v BG [2009] EWCA Civ 757, [2009] All ER (D) 249 (Jul) which gave impetus to the settlement ethos under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Pt 36—technical objections to an offer were overridden by the court (see NLJ, 31 July 2009).
Family mediation all began with Report of the Committee on One-Parent Families, 1974 (the Finer Report).

The report referred to “conciliation” in family disputes; so as part of our local Finer Joint

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
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
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
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’
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