Knowledge & resources

Each month, Resolution pulls together all the latest news for legal aid practitioners. This is the January 2021 edition.

With the outbreak of Covid-19 many of you will not be at your offices to receive your printed copy of The Review but help is at hand. For every issue we will be publishing the articles here in the Knowledge and Resources section of our website as well as the pdf of the printed version.

“It’ll all be over by Christmas!” With that famous phrase in mind, we went into lockdown in March with a roughly three-month horizon. After six months – and still counting - we all face the reality and uncertainties of living with Covid-19 for an indefinite future.

There seems to be a gradual decrease in the amount of family consultancy services being utilised by clients. Why? And what are client and practitioners missing out on?

David Burrow's round up of the latest case law.

This case contained some interesting points on Covid and Brexit-related company valuations, but is chiefly of note for its costs sanction for failing to negotiate reasonably once the financial landscape was known.

This case sets out the processes that must be thought through to establish whether privilege is found to have been waived, and if so the degree of disclosure that must then take place.

The Court of Appeal decision in R v P (Children: Similar fact evidence) [2020] won’t open the floodgates for the admission of similar-fact evidence, provides useful clarity on when and how it can be used.

Jo O’Sullivan runs O’Sullivan Family Law and is the Chair of Resolution’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Nazia Rashid of Anthony Gold Solicitors is a fellow member of the committee and the Joint Deputy Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee for the Muslim Council of Britain. Views expressed here are their own.

The new Scottish measures have similarities with and differences from E&W, Canada, Australia and NZ. One key point is the move to hear the voice of the child.

The case of Re X (A child) (Parental order: Surrogacy arrangement) [2020] is yet another example of the Family Court stretching the current outdated surrogacy laws in the UK.

In July 2018, the government announced its plans to review the ‘bureaucratic and intrusive hurdles’ faced by transgender people wishing to change their legal gender.

With the court system creaking with the strain of under-resource and Covid-19, looking out for each others’ well-being is more important than ever.

From paralegal to partner – why you need resilience and how to find it

“What are you doing now that you need to be doing differently? Because it is when we take charge and ownership of the mistakes that we make that we can truly show that we are embracing diversity.”

For one international firm, Zoom and Teams were already fully in use before Covid 19, and helped facilitate a hands-on, face-to-face approach to staff development

From a Post-It note to a commitment to openness, proper team decision-making, and social responsibility

Resolution’s 6,500 members are family lawyers, mediators and other family justice professionals, committed to a non-adversarial approach to family law and the resolution of family disputes.

Our response has been prepared by members of Resolution’s Cohabitation and International Committees.

As part of a series of articles in this issue on firm culture and personal development, a partner reflects on a large law firm’s approach, including measuring performance, support and well-being.

As well as being aware of the rising risk factors, family practitioners should be aware – and make clients aware – of the wealth of resources and support sources available.