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Civil way: 28 March 2025

28 March 2025 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8110 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Hold tightly in family; LPA is 100; suing too high; hello Business Ombudsman; new consumer law; employment awards up.

FINANCIAL REMEDY EXPRESS

We already have financial remedy applications (principally for periodical payments only) on the fast track. Now we are about to experience ‘express’ unlimited remedies for relative tiddlers through a 12-month pilot introduced by new PD 36H with FPR PD update no 1 of 2025 as from 7 April 2025. But not in all family court locations. The pilot is rushing to 33 centres including Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and, inevitably, Crewe with its 12 railway platforms. Not London where life is slower. The pilot will be limited to contested cases where the combined total of the parties’ net assets, excluding pension rights or pension protection fund compensation entitlement, is or is likely to be less than £250,000—or so considered to be by the applicant in the application.

On issue, the court will list a first hearing, intended as the FDR, within 16 to 20 weeks with a time estimate of

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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