A quick flick through the pages of the national newspapers demonstrates that it can sometimes be all too tempting for commentators to resort to generalities. However, if there’s one thing which being a family lawyer has taught me, it’s that few things are ever as simple or straightforward as they first appear. Over decades, we […]
Read moreI reckon that very few people ever start something by thinking that they won’t finish. Who, for instance, accepts a job knowing that they won’t enjoy it? How many people would book a holiday that they believe will be a wash-out? It’s the same with a relationship. When people marry or enter into a civil […]
Read moreOver the course of any given year, the family courts across England and Wales are called on to deal with an immense volume and breadth of work. For instance, some 63,084 new cases began between July and September this year alone (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2021/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2021). They included matters relating to divorce, childcare, mental health, domestic abuse and probate. […]
Read moreThe global coronavirus pandemic has so upset the balance in our lives at home and at work that it almost seems difficult to believe that the second anniversary of lockdown measures being imposed will be upon us in just a matter of weeks. When Boris Johnson announced a series of steps to limit the spread […]
Read moreAlthough the disciplines dealt with by each division of the High Court differ, all maintain a similar vigour when it comes to upholding their respective authority. As my colleague Sarah Hewitt wrote on this ‘blog last month, the Family Court is not shy in exercising the full range of powers at its disposal when it […]
Read moreOver the course of recent decades, the nature of domestic relationships in British homes has undergone tremendous change. Only in recent days, my colleague Alice Rogers has written on this ‘blog of the speed with which cohabitation has become more frequent – up by almost 60 per cent in less than 20 years – shedding […]
Read moreI reckon that very few people ever start something by thinking that they won’t finish. Who, for instance, accepts a job knowing that they won’t enjoy it? How many people would book a holiday that they believe will be a wash-out? It’s the same with a relationship. When people marry or enter into a civil […]
Read moreFairness has always been one of the fundamental principles of family court proceedings. Regardless of whether those involved agree entirely with the outcomes, having matters adjudicated in an even-handed manner is an important element in ensuring that they are at least accepted. Of course, every judicial decision depends on weighing up the facts in each […]
Read moreSeven years ago, a new term entered into the vocabulary for those considering the language of relationships. The actress Gwyneth Paltrow described how her divorce from the Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin amounted to a “conscious uncoupling” (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2014/mar/26/conscious-uncoupling-gwyneth-paltrow-chris-martin-separation). Although, Ms Paltrow didn’t coin the phrase, she used it to explain how the pair – who […]
Read moreWe live in a time when change seems to be the only constant. In less than two years, the coronavirus pandemic has overturned many of the accepted wisdoms about how we live, work and interact with others. However, just a few months before the world was placed into lockdown, another significant development occurred which continued […]
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