Mediation

Family practitioners should be aware of the courts’ increasing readiness to impose costs orders as a result of poor behaviour or misleading evidence: Siobhan Vegh, Natalie Nero & Rebecca Sutton highlight a recent example

The Family Procedure Rules (FPR) have changed. In this week’s NLJ, David Emmerson, partner at Anthony Gold, takes a detailed look at the new rulebook, particularly the powers granted by Pt 3 on case management and the use of non-court dispute resolution procedures.

Changes to the FPR are resulting in more referrals to mediation. David Emmerson OBE explores the new provisions & their impact on practitioners & clients

Retired costs judge John O’Hare discusses ADR in three contexts, in this week’s NLJ. He covers cases provisionally allocated to the small claims track, commercial litigation in the County Court, and claims opposed by liability insurers or by large self-insuring organisations such as local authorities or health authorities.

John O’Hare states some home truths about mediation

The Labour government’s position on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is not yet clear

ADR has the potential to alleviate various pressures on the courts, but Nikki Edwards argues for a nuanced approach

Mandatory ADR is here to stay, write Georgina Squire & Camilla Pratt

How is the law serving single parents & their children? David Burrows considers a half-century of reforms

It’s 50 years since the 1974 Finer Report of the Committee on One-Parent Families, so what has been achieved?