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06 September 2024
Issue: 8084 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Family , Child law
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NLJ this week: Three wishes for the new Lord Chancellor

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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

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions

NEWS
Uber has built a formidable strategy for insulating itself from liability for drivers’ conduct, but the legal terrain differs sharply between the US and England and Wales
The Civil Justice Council’s review of Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 could mark the end of what one commentator calls an ‘outdated’ and overly technical regime governing solicitor-client fee disputes
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 marks a constitutional watershed by severing the centuries-old link between hereditary titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber
Artificial intelligence, proportionality and public decision-making are under increasing judicial scrutiny, according to the latest public law round-up from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Families relying on informal agreements over property ownership could face costly consequences if disputes arise, the High Court has warned
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