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11 October 2023
Issue: 8044 / Categories: Legal News
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Hope for cohabitation reform

Family lawyers’ group Resolution has welcomed the Labour Party’s commitment to reforming the law for cohabiting couples

Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry told Labour Conference this week that Labour, in office, would review the law because, ‘For too long, women in cohabiting couples have been left with no rights when those relationships come to an end’. Thornberry also said women who reported sexual harassment at work should get the same protection as whistleblowers, and the laws protecting women from stalkers would be strengthened.

Jo Edwards, chair of Resolution’s family law reform group, said the announcement ‘should be welcomed by cohabiting couples, together with practitioners who see the significant financial hardship caused by our current, out of date law’.

Also at Labour Conference, in Liverpool this week, shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood vowed never to scapegoat the judiciary or the legal profession, and accused the government of undermining confidence in the rule of law by criticising lawyers.

Issue: 8044 / Categories: Legal News
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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