Out On A Technicality
I complain often enough about the LSC finding pathetic technicalities upon which to base the rejection of my claims for payment for work done (most recently a five figure sum which relates to work between 6 and 18 months ago on a single case, but more frequently the rejection of a smaller claim because I [...]
Only 4 Sleeps To Go!!
A certain 3 year old is convinced everyone in his world most ardently desires a Thomas Playset for Xmas, and is just as convinced that Father Cwistmas will not fail a single one of us. Oh how lucky we all are (Me: What do you think I want for Xmas? 3 y/o: A Thomas Playset. [...]
Disingenuous Cowards
Ken Clarke has aroused the ire of many lawyers and many non-lawyers of this week for his remarks in an interview with the James Lewis for the International Bar Association. You can watch the video here. Following is an imperfect transcript of the relevant bits. The part that has really worked everyone up into a [...]
And for tonight’s rant…
…I shall mostly be complaining about section 20 of the Children Act. It’s a well intentioned provision, but often exploited and misused in ways which make my blood boil. s20, for those who don’t know, is a provision which places a duty upon Local Authorities to accommodate children who have no available parent or who [...]
FOI about LIPs from MOJ is FFS and OMG then AAK
I recently received a response to my Freedom of Information Request to the Ministry of Justice concerning private family cases and litigants in person. It’s a little impenetrable, so to help break through to what it means I’m going to run through it. First, read the response here. The information comes from the HMCS FamilyMan [...]
Government Consults on Clare’s Law
Theresa May this week launched a long awaited consultation on so called Clare’s Law, about which I have written before in the Guardian. It’s proper name is the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. I’ve written about this before, when Clare’s Law was no more than a twinkle in a Minister’s eye. It’s helpful to have some more [...]
Manifesto for Family Justice
This morning (24th October) the FLBA together with the Bar Council and an alliance of other organisations publishes a Manifesto for Family Justice. The alliance, which comprises the Association of Lawyers for Children, the Bar Council, CAADA, the Children’s Commissioner, the Family Law Bar Association, Gingerbread, Liberty, the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, Resolution and Women’s Aid, has called upon the Government to: · Protect vulnerable women and [...]
Courts Hit By Disillusioned Litigants?
Our new shiny Civil Justice Centre AND Magistrates court appear to have been smashed up on two consecutive nights this week. I understand from local radio the Bristol Mags suffered some smashing and graffiti (“FIGHT BACK”), and the BBC reports that hammers were used and that the attack was carried out by 2 men dressed [...]
FLBA Resolutions
The following resolutions were unanimously approved at the national meeting of the Family Law Bar Association on 17th September 2011. They have been sent to the Government : The FLBA calls on the Government to include in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (“the Bill”) a specific provision requiring the Lord Chancellor, in the [...]
LiP Service
Litigants in Person are in the news. The penny seems to be dropping that they are becoming the norm rather than the exception. The Gazette carries a piece on the soaring numbers of LiPs, based upon a recent and stark increase in demand upon the services offered by the PSU at the RCJ, in particular [...]
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