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06 June 2025
Issue: 8119 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Divorce , Child law
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NLJ this week: Tales from three divorces

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Political donations, a husband’s fraudulent non-disclosure, journalistic access to court documents, and what happens when an uncooperative spouse refuses to leave the matrimonial home? In this week’s NLJ, Ellie Hampson-Jones, senior associate, and Carla Ditz, knowledge development lawyer, Stewarts, look into the whys and wherefores of three recent family law cases

Hampson-Jones and Ditz also consider recently issued guidance for judges on writing letters to children and an upcoming consultation on unregulated experts in children proceedings.

Their quarterly update, 'Family law brief', considers interesting issues raised regarding the treatment of political donations for the purposes of divorce settlements in green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince’s divorce, as well as sanctions imposed on a wife who refused to leave.

Hampson-Jones and Ditz write: ‘The case provides clear guidance to practitioners where a spouse remains in occupation and deliberately obstructs the sale of a property in contravention of the intention of an order.’ 
Issue: 8119 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Divorce , Child law
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Sidley—James Inness

Sidley—James Inness

Partner joins capital markets team in London office

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Firm announces appointment of partner as UK general counsel

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Firm appoints first chief marketing officer to drive growth strategy

NEWS
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
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