A woman going through a divorce sent this email to me: I was so excited that my soon-to-be-ex finally emailed me and said that he agreed to accept my settlement offer. We finally had a divorce settlement agreement! But the next day he emailed me back and said he changed his mind. He DIDN’T agree. Can he do that? I wish I could say that once your spouse said, “Yes. I agree” to a divorce settlement agreement, you actually HAD a firm agreement. The truth is, however, you didn’t. In Illinois, until you (or your lawyers) have written your divorce settlement […]

The Education Select Committee has launched a new inquiry to investigate causes and possible solutions to the growing issue of children’s absence from school. The Committee states that Government statistics have shown that covid-19 is likely to have had a damaging effect on school attendance. In the 2021 autumn term, the most recent period for which data is available, 23.5% of all pupils were persistently absent (defined as missing 10% or more of sessions) and 1.4% were severely absent (meaning they missed at least 50% of sessions). In the 2018/19 academic year, the figures for persistent and severe absence were […]

Grieving a divorce means different things to different people. Everyone’s personal journey with grief is unique.  Recently I was digging through a box of photos looking for memories to share at a friend’s funeral. I found photos of myself and my ex over a 40-year span-birthdays, holidays, camping trips, sabbatical photos, and my kids’ musical performances and graduations. Each photo brought up fond memories, followed by a sting of the grief. It was a different phase of my life -a phase when I felt much happier and fulfilled in my relationship. When we are young, we look forward to all […]

I seriously want to hug the woman who sent me the e-mail below! Like almost every newly separated person, she is fearful of the unknown, sad, in a way, and lonely. But, she ends her e-mail with, “I am working on myself.” Wow. This is the best thing she can say and do right now. Here is her e-mail: Jackie, Newly separated about 10 weeks I left our home of 25 plus years. feel really panicked at times to go home. Was married 30 yrs. I am living with my mother and it a big house I’m ok with it, […]

Cavanagh: Fully satisfied Ms Doble did not know she was conducting litigation A CILEX member running an unregulated business conducted litigation in breach of the Legal Services Act 2007 when she acted on a possession claim, the High Court has ruled. This was despite her not going on the record or corresponding with the court on headed notepaper. Conducting a reserved legal activity without authorisation is a criminal offence and, when litigation is involved, contempt of court as well under the Act. But Mr Justice Cavanagh held that Sarah Doble did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected […]

In light of ClientEarth’s most recent lawsuit against Shell, it’s time to talk about the surge in climate change-related disputes and claims, and the high stakes they create for corporate board members. These lawsuits aim to compel corporations to act, recover investments, and influence future strategy. Climate litigation has proven an effective tool to expedite the shift to renewable energy on a global scale. As climate change effects loom over the political and economic landscape, valid potential legal claims have been employed to urge entities to reform, rescind, or explain their policies on sustainability. Recent Outcomes Although climate litigation has […]

England’s most senior family court judge has advised there is a “need for rigour” and “clarity” when instructing psychologists to give expert evidence – but has stopped short of saying the family courts should never appoint those who are “unregulated”. Instead Sir Andrew McFarlane claims it is a matter for the psychological profession, and ultimately parliament, whether a “tighter regime should be imposed” on what he has described as a “confusing system”. The president of the family division in England and Wales made the comments in a landmark judgment published on Wednesday that confirms the generic label “psychologist” is not […]

Campaigners have hailed a new law raising the legal age of marriage in England and Wales as a significant milestone in child protection. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act comes into force on Monday following a five-year campaign and will prevent 16- and 17-year-olds from marrying or entering a civil partnership, even if they have parental consent. Campaigners have long argued that a legal loophole allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent was being exploited to coerce young people into child marriage. The law makes it illegal to arrange for a child to marry, whether or […]

We all have different values, fundamentals, and standards. That’s why there is no one single definition of inappropriate co-parenting. Inappropriate co-parenting means different things to different people. If you wish to co-parent the best way you can, then my advice is to always ask yourself the question “Is this behavior in the best interest of my child, their development and their relationship with their other parent?” Positive co-parenting is characterized as a relationship in which  there is respect, honest communication, and where both parents take time to listen to each other’s concerns. These co-parents value each other’s role in their […]

Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor CBE FKC, looks at one fast growing but underreported ‘small business’ segment in the UK: the ‘side hustle’…. With the Budget looming, SMEs are asking for meaningful support that reflects their huge contribution to UK GDP – estimated at around 52%. But while Government articulates the importance of our SME businesses it rarely matches this with measures to support them. There is one fast growing but underreported ‘small business’ segment in the UK that particularly needs its backing – the ‘side hustle.’ On the rare occasions I have been invited to Government meetings to discuss entrepreneurship, and […]

  From the team at Capsule. Is there such thing as a “perfect” age to marry? Can marrying young increase your chances of divorcing? Can you leave it too late? Or, are there actually much bigger factors at play than merely age? We talked to a woman who is getting married for the second time and is keen for answers – plus, we crunch the numbers and get advice from a divorce coach and a relationship therapist. Welcome to our series, The Love Diaries – a space for you to share your experiences, advice, fairy-tale endings, setbacks and heartbreaks. We’ll […]

By adopting best practices in 2023, you can significantly reduce discovery and privacy risks and costs arising from data proliferation and new data sources. In today’s hybrid work environments, all data from non-traditional data sources – such as texts from employee cellphones, data maintained by third-party providers and information from Teams, Slack and Zoom – can be subject to litigation discovery, whether the information is on company, employee or third party devices. Preserving and producing data from those sources can be difficult and expensive, but the consequences of failing to do so when required are much worse. Accordingly, it is critical to take proactive […]

Britain’s economy will slam into reverse this year as the cost-of-living crisis hits households hard and will see the worst performance of all the advanced nations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. In its latest World Economic Outlook update, the IMF downgraded its UK gross domestic product (GDP) forecast once again, predicting a contraction of 0.6% against the 0.3% growth pencilled in last October as Britain looks set to suffer more than most from soaring inflation and higher interest rates. But it nudged up its outlook for UK growth in 2024 to 0.9%, up from the 0.6% expansion previously […]

A business expert today argued it was better to give staff going through a marriage breakup more work to distract them – as she criticised calls for official divorce leave.   An initiative created by the Positive Parenting Alliance and backed by Tesco, Asda and Natwest would change HR policies to state that separation is akin to a family death or illness. This would let staff access leave or flexible working arrangements.  But in a debate today on Good Morning Britain, Tina Knight, who was presented with the Women in Business Award by Margaret Thatcher in 1988, branded the proposals ‘ridiculous’ and revealed she would […]

On 27 January 2023, the Commercial Court (Cockerill J) in PJSC National Bank Trust & anor v Mints & ors [2023] EWHC 118 (Comm) ruled on a number of important issues relating to the effect of sanctions on the ability of a sanctioned person to pursue litigation before the English courts. The litigation arises out of claims by the Claimant Banks for US$850m on the basis that certain of the Defendants conspired with representatives of the Claimant banks to enter into uncommercial transactions with companies connected to the relevant Defendants, whereby loans were replaced with worthless or near worthless bonds. […]

The Court of Appeal recently confirmed in Loreley Financing (Jersey) No 30 Limited v Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited & Ors [2022] EWCA Civ 1484 that litigation privilege will generally not extend to the identity of individuals communicating with a solicitor in relation to litigation. The identity of those individuals would be privileged only in “unusual” cases where that disclosure would “inhibit candid discussion between the lawyer and the client”. The decision serves as a stark reminder to both potential and active litigants not to assume that every facet of their interaction with their legal team will be protected from […]

Litigation today is more complex than ever before. Burgeoning consumer class actions, big tech antitrust matters, and high-stakes patent disputes involve more parties, data, and technically advanced issues. Emerging risk areas like ESG and crypto only add to the complexity. Complex litigation is pervasive, particularly in the federal system. Multidistrict litigation now accounts for over 70% of the federal civil caseload. Demand exceeds the jump in litigation spending, according to a recent survey of law-firm clients, with more than half of large firms increasing their litigation budgets. An economic downturn and heightened enforcement should lead to more lawsuits. Litigators know […]

The Court of Appeal has ruled that personal injury claimants can recover both whiplash and non-whiplash injuries without one cancelling out the other. In a landmark ruling today, the court said that in so-called ‘hybrid’ cases it was the right approach to compensate for loss of amenity under both heads, albeit reducing the final damages amount to account for some overlap. The judgment appears to settle the debate over hybrid claims which has continued since the government’s Civil Liability Act introduced a tariff of set damages for whiplash only. But the decision was only by a majority, with master of […]