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Gender & the law: time for change

12 July 2024 / Jasmine Galvin
Issue: 8079 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Family , Equality , Discrimination
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From pronouns to ‘legalease’—the legal world needs to adapt, argues Jasmine Galvin
  • Considers how the legal profession should respond to gender issues, particularly how family lawyers can be inclusive and supportive.

It is now 20 years since the creation of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and ten years on from the legalisation of gay marriage in the UK. This country is clearly capable of change and shows positive signs of becoming more inclusive.

Census 2021, England and Wales included a question on gender identity for the first time, with the result showing more than 260,000 people reported their gender identity as different to their sex registered at birth. So should the family justice system be better equipped to accommodate gender diversity? Is there a need for legal practitioners to adapt some of our historic legislation to enable everyone to feel they can access legal services without barriers—and, as non-binary/LGBTQIA+ communities continue to grow, are we able to make these changes to ensure inclusivity?

Pronouns

What

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Partner joins family law team inLondon

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Private client division announces five new partners

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Banking and finance team welcomes partner in London

NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
In this week's NLJ, Bhavini Patel of Howard Kennedy LLP reports on Almacantar v De Valk [2025], a landmark Upper Tribunal ruling extending protection for leaseholders under the Building Safety Act 2022
Writing in NLJ this week, Hanna Basha and Jamie Hurworth of Payne Hicks Beach dissect TV chef John Torode’s startling decision to identify himself in a racism investigation he denied. In an age of ‘cancel culture’, they argue, self-disclosure can both protect and imperil reputations
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