Family
Firm ordered to pay ex-client £400k for negligent divorce advice
A law firm that narrowed the scope of its retainer after a divorcing woman negotiated her own financial settlement was nonetheless negligent in failing to give her advice on the deal.
Courts not “insurers of solicitors” in divorce cases where costs overrun
It is not the role of courts to act as “insurers of solicitors” who “overshoot, let alone dramatically overshoot” legal services payment orders, a Family Court judge has said.
Completion of court modernisation programme pushed back again
Completion of the court modernisation programme has been pushed back again, this time to March 2024, it has emerged – in a blog, rather than a Ministry of Justice annoucement.
Compulsory family mediation “will reduce demand for law firms”
Plans to make mediation mandatory before a separating couple can go to court is likely to reduce demand for legal services providers, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.
Judge excoriates “shameless” family case with costs of £5.5m
A family court judge has described a case where the two parties racked up costs of £5.5m as “one of the most shameless pieces of litigation” he has ever seen.
Solicitor ghosted client and SRA after receiving divorce settlement
A solicitor who failed to pass on to a client the £132,000 due to her from her divorce settlement – money the profession has now had to stump up – has been struck off.
Consumers “don’t care whether legal businesses are regulated”
Consumers of divorce and separation services “don’t care whether a business is regulated”, the co-founder of pioneering service amicable said this week.
Separating couples should “try almost anything” before going to court
Separating couples should “try almost anything” before turning to the courts, the president of the Family Division has said, arguing that there has “got to be a better way” to resolve child disputes in particular.
Family lawyers and judges “need menopause training”
Women who have experienced divorce or separation and the menopause believe family lawyers and judges should have training on the issue so they can “factor it into their cases”.
McFarlane urges shift away from mediation in mandatory pre-divorce meetings
Mediation should no longer be the focus of divorce information meetings and they should be run by “generalist” lawyers and social workers as well as mediators.
Insurance and client capability are “main barriers” to unbundling
The availability of professional indemnity insurance and the capability of clients are the main concerns for law firms looking at unbundled services, research has indicated.
Law firm’s “extremely disquieting” failure to comply with court order
A High Court judge has described as “extremely disquieting” the failure of a North-West law firm to comply with a disclosure order – even though ultimately the order was unnecessary.
Resolution embraces ‘one lawyer, one couple’ approach to divorce
Family lawyers group Resolution is to start promoting the ‘one lawyer, two clients’ model for divorce that both law firms and unregulated providers are starting to offer.
Family specialists choose employee ownership over acquisition
The founders of a specialist family law firm have spurned potential acquirors to transfer it instead into an employee ownership trust, saying the move sends a positive signal to would-be staff.
Divorce litigation becoming unaffordable for all but the rich, warns judge
Financial remedy litigation seems to be “fast heading for Ritz Hotel status – so expensive that it is only accessible by the very rich”, a senior family judge warned yesterday.
Blog
The new leaders of law
Where once many law firm owners remained technology sceptics, a growing number are now shaped by leaders who are digitally fluent and commercially oriented.
Managing lock-up, cash flow and billing inefficiencies better
If law firms view lock-up, cash flow and billing processes as key indicators of financial performance – and therefore risk – they can identify problems early.
Ethical standards to protect the public
The recent BBC Panorama episode on solicitors acting for the Post Office highlighted how some lawyers can lose sight of their role to uphold the rule of law and the public interest.
