If someone asked me what the hardest part of divorce was at the beginning, right after my ex moved out, I would say it was the nights my kids were with their dad. I would go to bed and wake up in an eerily quiet house and I hated it so much. Coping with divorce in this regard isn’t easy and it takes time.   I have a friend who is experiencing a new separation and is having a hard time coping with divorce. She called me crying the other day because her two little girls were at their dad’s […]

One phenomenon of the pandemic, even months into it, is the increase in relationship issues. Despite the mantra of trying to solve COVID-19 together, many couples are anything but together as they argue and scramble for the divorce papers. Why is this happening, and how can we prevent it? Divorce is never easy, yet many people are still taking the plunge. Let’s look at some reasons why COVID-19 is increasing the divorce rate. People Are Together More, And That’s Not Always Good There are many couples who are only together a few hours a day, especially if they work during […]

Following an influx of coronavirus-related claims and virtual trials, as well as reinvigorated litigation funders, there is no doubt that Covid-19 is driving a new approach to dispute resolution. This emerging trend was put forward by Stewarts during a recent roundtable, with insight provided by three of the firm’s partners alongside general counsel from a whole host of companies. The debate, which formed part of The Lawyer’s virtual general strategy summit, revolved around three core areas, including risk appetite, the mechanics of litigation and the rise of third-party funding. Stewarts’ partner Sean Upson kicked off the conversation by addressing how […]

Home > News The Ministry of Justice has launched a review which will consider how the current approach to decisions on parental access made in the family courts is impacting child safety, in the next step forward for government’s wider plans to reform family courts and bring in greater protections for domestic abuse victims. This follows a package of reforms earlier in the year to overhaul how family courts deal with domestic abuse cases – providing extra protections in courtrooms for victims, stronger powers to block abusers repeatedly dragging victims back to court and a new investigative court process to […]

Litigation and other options in IP dispute resolution When it comes to intellectual property (IP) dispute resolution, normally the general public thinks of court litigation. Various organizations will also publish a spectrum of typical litigation cases, relevant judgments and analyses each year to guide judicial practices, or for legal professionals to discuss and study. Admittedly, litigation is a very representative method in the resolution of IP disputes, and it is also the most influential solution at present. However, from a different perspective, if the rights holder’s ultimate purpose is to boost the market share and public awareness of its brand, […]

In this article, Angela Milner (Senior Associate, Knowledge Development Lawyer) looks back at predictions made in April regarding the impact of Covid-19 on civil litigation. Angela assesses which of those predictions have materialised and discusses what we can expect to see in a post-Covid era. A. What we thought would happen In April we published an article discussing the likely impact the Coronavirus pandemic (and the restrictions imposed to deal with it) would have on civil litigation. We speculated that there would, among other things, be an uptick in applications for extensions of time and adjournments, but that the courts would most likely press […]

Ed. note: Litigation finance is transforming the fields of both law and finance. To help our readers gain a better understanding of what litigation finance entails, we’ve partnered with Lake Whillans to present an ongoing series detailing how litigation funding works, its pros and cons, and its past, present, and future. The potential benefits of litigation funding are increasingly well-known to litigators and in-house counsel. But until you have been through the process of raising funding, it can be difficult to know what to expect. Lake Whillans has years of experience introducing claimholders and counsel to the funding process and […]

Janette Higginson torched her £400,000 family home to spite her husband of 27 years after they became embroiled in an acrimonious divorce (Picture: Cavendish Press) An embittered wife who torched her £400,000 family home to spite her husband during a divorce has been jailed for almost three years. Mum-of-three Janette Higginson, 57, rang police herself on June 11 to say the suburban house where she had lived for 36 years was on fire. Firefighters rushed to the four-bedroom house in Firswood, near Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Manchester, to find her sitting outside covered in soot. The court heard she had told police […]

Industry superannuation fund, Rest has agreed to settle litigation brought by its member, Mark McVeigh, creating a climate risk fiduciary precedent. In 2017, McVeigh filed legal action against the fund for breaching fiduciary duties by failing to adequately handle climate change risk. Today, Rest issued a statement that said it would take further steps to ensure its investment managers took active steps to consider, measure, and manage financial risks posed by climate change and other relevant environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks. It noted that it would use “a variety of mechanisms” to access and, if necessary, take steps to improve […]

Johnny Depp’s defeat in the London libel courts has been hailed by domestic violence charities as a victory that should encourage other victims to come forward and seek justice. The judgment on Monday by the high court that the Sun was justified in describing the Pirates of the Caribbean star as a “wife beater” was welcomed by lawyers and campaign groups who support those who have experienced domestic abuse. The damage to the Hollywood actor’s reputation, following one of the most widely followed libel trials of the century, will be extensive. His lawyers said he was likely to appeal against […]