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NLJ this week: Three wishes for the new Lord Chancellor

06 September 2024
Issue: 8084 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Family , Child law
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If the new Labour Lord Chancellor could make three changes to family law procedure, what should they be?

In this first part of a two-part NLJ series, family law solicitor-advocate David Burrows sets out his wishlist for change.

Burrows, a fierce critic of procedural inefficiency, regularly highlights in his NLJ columns the dire consequences of court delays on children caught up in the family justice system. Here, he pinpoints three areas for improvement and skilfully presents argument for each.

On children’s rights to make applications, Burrows recalls a 2016 case in which Lady Justice Black described the law of child representation as ‘of complexity’. Burrows writes: ‘In the company of so experienced a children lawyer, what hope has a child of knowing how to get anywhere?’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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