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NLJ this week: Loss of privacy & the rise of the private FDR

23 May 2025
Issue: 8117 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Privacy , Divorce , ADR , Media
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As family justice becomes more open and transparent, more judgments are being published, writes Beverley Morris, partner and head of London family team, HCR Law. This raises concerns about privacy among those using the courts and is driving them to consider more out-of-court options, such as private financial dispute resolution (private FDR)

Morris writes: ‘Privacy is of paramount importance to most clients. We cannot now assure them, at the outset of their case, that their decision will not be reported.’

She highlights that private FDRs ‘are not the preserve of the wealthy’—it is a competitive market and costs have reduced over time. 

Issue: 8117 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Privacy , Divorce , ADR , Media
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS
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After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
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Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
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