A week in family law: Stalking protection orders As I reported here in this post, new Stalking Protection Orders (‘SPOs’) have now come into force. According to the Home Office, SPOs will allow courts in England and Wales to move quicker to ban stalkers from contacting victims or visiting their home, place of work or […] More
Just two ‘real’ family law stories this week, although one of them was a biggie. More funding for troubled families Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick MP has announced that families with deep-rooted problems will receive support to get their lives back on track, with up to £165 million of new funding. The funding for the Troubled […] More
The current state of family justice In December we were treated to the latest edition of the View from The President’s Chambers, the regular(ish) update on the state of family justice from the President of the Family Division, currently Sir Andrew McFarlane (I put it that way as the View was originated by Sir Andrew’s […] More
Peace on Earth, but not for family law One might reasonably expect the holiday season in family law to provide some much-needed relief from the continual torrent of family law news. However, anyone with such an expectation will have been sorely disappointed this holiday season just gone. Three major stories broke between Christmas and the […] More
Family law statistics: As I reported here, the Ministry of Justice has published quarterly statistics on the work of the Family Court, for July to September 2019. The highlights included that the statistics showed an increase in the number of cases starting and an increase in the number of cases disposed of in the family […] More
McKenzie friends Biased advice As I mentioned here on Friday, Dr Tatiana Tkacukova, Senior Lecturer in English Language at Birmingham City University and Professor Hilary Sommerlad, Leeds Law School, have carried out a study assessing the quality of advice handed out by advisors on online forums and social media platforms. It does not make particularly happy reading, finding “that online advisors […] More
A review of family law in 2019 It’s that time again. A review of family law in 2019 as traditional as Christmas Day gluttony, Boxing Day hangovers and tasteless lights festooning the front of the house. But don’t fear – I will keep this mercifully short, looking only at the year’s events that affected the […] More
Read v Panzone The Court of Appeal judgment in Read v Panzone was published in early October. It’s been on my ‘to do’ list for a post here ever since, but other things have got in the way. I thought I better get around to writing the post, as it contains a familiar but nevertheless essential message for anyone involved […] More
