Pink Tape

a blog from the family bar

Valour: the better part of Judicial Discretion

Mr Justice Coleridge has been ruffling feathers again. In a speech whose title sounds more like a popular soundtrack to an ’80s film than a serious polemic, Mr Justice Coleridge has made some radical proposals about the way forward for the family justice system. This is not the first example of Coleridge making outspoken remarks, [...]

Shared Residence

I have recently read a really interesting article in the November issue of Family Law by Liz Trinder, entitled Shared Residence: A Review of Recent Research Evidence. For those of us who are attracted by the idea of shared residence it comes as something of a disappointment to discover through this article that the research [...]

Green Paper On Legal Aid Initial Observations #4: Private Law Children Cases

I write this on the train to the FLBA conference in Leeds. I have typed and lost it several times and have resolved to post it before it once again disappears into the ether. You will therefore have to excuse any jerkiness, repetition or overlong sentences. I wanted to post and so I post in [...]

Hear Hear! Three Pips for BaILII!

The UK Human Rights Blog points out that BaILII is really the hidden backbone of the justice system and (with a certain prescience) that: ‘In the virtual world, legal blogging isbecoming an established voice in the UK legal community and has provided the public with a lively, accessible and most importantly free new way of [...]

Djanogly Nerves

To members of the bar and solicitors: Jonathan Djanogly MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, will discuss the Green Paper on Legal Aid Reform at the next meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Legal and Constitutional Affairs (APPG). This meeting will take place on Wednesday 24 November at 2:00pm, Committee Room 14 at the [...]

Legal Aid League Table

I have been wondering about the assertion that we spend far more on legal aid than other countries, an assertion which underpins the Green Paper. I had toyed with the idea of making a stab at unpicking that assertion – but the UK Human Rights Blog has done it for me, and a fine job [...]

Green Paper on Legal Aid Initial Observations #3: What About Enforcement?

See previous posts here and here. At pa 4.14 it is said that the following are at the highest end of a spectrum of objective importance: ‘cases where the individual’s life is at stake, or they are at risk of serious physical harm. Also of high importance are cases where the individual’s liberty is at [...]

Green Paper on Legal Aid Initial Observations #2: Family mediation in private law family cases

This should be read in conjunction with my earlier post on the Green Paper as it relates to domestic violence. It is said at 4.69 of the paper that wherever possible, it would be in the best interest of those involved in private law family cases which do not involve domestic violence to take a [...]

Green Paper on Legal Aid – Initial Observations #1: Domestic Violence

I’ve decided to post several shorter posts about the green paper on legal aid published yesterday. This one will deal with domestic violence. First some groundwork. The paper proposes that whilst the scope of legal aid will be shrunk, it will remain available for categories of work or in respect of classes of people the [...]

Legal Aid Green Paper Published

Difficult to work out from the rather sketchy news reports how this will impact on family law apart from ‘massively’. More info from the Guardian here and the green paper itself is available in all its 224 page majesty here. I will post again when I have digested it, but headlines appear to be: no [...]

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    A blog in which I ricochet from too serious to too flippant, and alternate between a bit clever, a bit interesting and a bit ranty: Pink Tape neatly functions as both a blog about family law and a therapeutic escape valve for me. >>more




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