Practitioners cannot help but be aware of the issues in the
family law arena post-LASPO, and there have been a recent spate of cases where
the lack of funding available in the family courts has been brought into focus.
In the 2014 case
Q v Q; Re B; Re C (Private Law: Public
Funding) [2014] EWFC 31, the President of the Family
Division, Sir James Munby gave a warning that, in certain cases, where funding
could not be made available from any other source, the Ministry of Justice
could (and, where necessary, would) be ordered to meet the legal costs of a
litigant in person in much the same manner as where an interpreter was
required.
More recently, the case of
Re K and H (Children: Unrepresented Father: Cross-Examination of Child) [2015] EWFC 1 was handed down by the High Court on 7 January.
In that case, the High Court followed through on the warning given by
the President and ordered the Ministry of Justice to meet the legal costs of a
litigant in person in the cross-examination of a vulnerable witness. This is the first time we have seen the courts
take this step to address the LASPO fallout.
The likelihood is that the decision will be appealed, and the outcome of
any such appeal will be eagerly anticipated.
But what does all of this mean for practitioners? The family law landscape is changing rapidly
and recent developments in the law mean that practitioners will want to ensure
they remain up to date - a feat made simpler with the
Family Law Update 2015. With three expert speakers in
each location, including a judge, a finance specialist and a children
specialist, practitioners can ensure they are equipped for their day-to-day
practice and stay up to date with the latest development so that they can
advise their clients with confidence.
The superb speakers deal with key practice areas,
including the latest on financial remedies, public and private children law,
all things procedural, plus a range of need-to-know hot topics including:
- Litigants in Person, Legal Aid, MIAMs &
non-court Dispute Resolution
- The future of financial remedies – by
Baroness Deech and Moylan J;
- Latest developments in periodical
payments;
- Recent case-law updates and their
implications;
- A review of the Children and Families
Act 2014 since its inception in March;
- A detailed report on the Financial
Remedies Working Group;
- The Single Family Court and
Regionalised Divorce Centres – how they are working;
- Financial remedy applications –
striking out.
And much, much more ...
Delegates will also receive high-quality materials
to which they can refer when required.
Family Law’s annual nationwide seminar series
is the essential one-stop shop for all family law practitioners. Unbeatable
value for money, this is a training event practitioners cannot afford to miss.
The Family Law Update kicks off in Newcastle
on 20 January. For more information and details on how to book your place, visit our website.
Join the discussion on Twitter using #FamLawUpdate 
