header-logo header-logo

19 May 2023
Issue: 8025 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Divorce
printer mail-detail

NLJ this week: Pre-nup pressure in hotly fought case

122339
Pre-nuptial contracts have been challenged in court, and survived, in the recent case of M v A. In this week’s NLJ, Sarah Jane Lenihan and Laura Couves, of Dawson Cornwell, look at the case in depth. 

The judge made some interesting comments on the conduct of parties and on what is required to establish ‘undue pressure’.

Lenihan and Couves write: ‘For practitioners, if you intend to run a conduct argument, it must be pleaded properly; you cannot simply run the argument in the background in the hope that it will add colour to your client’s case.’

The court considered whether pre-nups signed pre-Radmacher, a seminal case in this area, could be considered valid. It also looked at the issue of what is reasonable to meet a divorcing party’s needs.

Lenihan and Couves sum up the key takeaways and messages from the case—read more here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

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
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’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
back-to-top-scroll