New Court Chambers Newsletter - Spring 2023
We are delighted to publish the 18th New Court Newsletter, which sees a change of editor from Jemimah Hendrick to Grace Robertson and Michael Connor.
This edition features public and private children law updates as well as financial remedies updates, the Family Lawyer’s Toolkit and a look at the Court of Protection.
To read this edition, please click here.
We hope you enjoy it.
Samuel Marks Joins Chambers
We are delighted that Samuel Marks has joined chambers as a tenant after successful completion of his pupillage.
Samuel has already built up a strong practice in his second six months of pupillage and we wish him all the best as he continues to develop his career with us.
Legal 500 2022
We are delighted that Christopher Poole, Giles Bain, Sally Jackson, Andrew Shaw and Sam Wallace have continued to be recognised in the 2022 edition of Legal 500.
Children Law (Including Public and Private Law):
- Giles Bain (1993)- Group 4: ‘Giles has an excellent knowledge. He knows his area of law so well he is able to raise points and legal arguments that others have missed which he has done leading to a completely different and much more positive outcome for clients. His experience and attention to detail is exceptional.’
- Christopher Poole (1996)- Group 4: ‘Christopher’s strengths are excellent client care, thorough preparation and first-rate judgement. His case load is made up of back-to-back complex public law children cases.’
- Andrew Shaw (2001)- Group 5: ‘He is forensic, easy to work with, robust and firm in incredibly difficult cases.’
- Sam Wallace (2004)- Group 5: ‘Sam’s calmness in a crisis is admirable, a very steadying hand and his legal brain is extremely agile and capable.
Family (Including Divorce and Financial Remedy):
- Sally Jackson (2006)- Group 4: ‘Sally is a strong and effective advocate. She communicates well and has a meticulous eye for detail.’
Saiqa Choudhury Joins New Court
New Court is delighted that Saiqa Chaudhry has joined chambers as a tenant.
Saiqa is a former member of 18 St Johns Street Chambers in Manchester.
Full profile to follow.
Elissa Da Costa Waldman's TLATA Case Hits The Headlines
Kirsty Cahill’s TLATA case hit the headlines last week as being the case of the mean property developer who humiliated her, the mother of his three children and partner of 20 years by refusing to accept that she was the true owner of the investment property purchased in her sole name.
The newspapers portrayed this as David –v- Goliath and the poor unmarried ‘wifely’ cohabitant against the older, arrogant, financially astute man of property. That wasn’t the whole story of course – there were some legal concepts involved which will be covered in the next NCC newsletter.
The case however highlighted two important aspects, one the Deficit of Knowledge being the lack of awareness and knowledge of those purchasing property or moving in with partners and who assume that the ‘common law wife’ not only exists but has rights. She is a myth without recourse to justice. The other aspect is the Importance of Evidence. Steven Farrer lost because the documentary evidence damned him. Two particular pieces of evidence being his emails to the managing agents who collected the rent and a ‘to whom it may concern’ reference for the painter and decorator that told the world that Kirsty was the sole owner of the property, the corollary of which was that his payment of the difference between the purchase price and the mortgage was indeed a gift to Kirsty!
This case will feature in our next newsletter.
Third Six Pupillage Applications
Chambers is looking to recruit a 3rd Six pupil to join our busy team in October 2016. Applicants should have completed a 12 month pupillage with an emphasis on family work, and should be able to show a clear commitment and motivation to pursuing a career as a specialist family advocate.
The pupillage will be unfunded but we anticipate that the successful candidate can expect a busy court practice from the outset.
Please apply by sending a CV with a covering letter by 4:00pm on Friday 5th August 2016 to the Chair of the Pupillage Committee in hardcopy and by email to swallace@newcourtchambers.com, copying in clerks@newcourtchambers.com.
Settlement Conferences Are Here
By Laura Harrington
The Central Family Court has recently commenced a pilot scheme which sees the introduction of Settlement Conferences in family proceedings (both private and public law proceedings). The scheme is already up and running in Cheshire and Merseyside and has been a success for the majority of cases which have opted into having a settlement conference.
What is a settlement conference?
It is a concept which has been taken and adapted from the Canadian legal system. You only need to Google ‘settlement conferences’ and you will get many hits which show they are used in a number of countries across the world. In short, settlement conferences are hearings whereby the Judge takes a more ‘hands on' role and encourages all parties involved to try and reach a settlement.
When does a settlement conference take place? Is is instead of an IRH?
All parties will be given the option to have a settlement conference. In order for a settlement conference to take place all parties must consent. A settlement conference should be listed as soon as practicable. If it is not possible to reach an agreement the matter will be listed for IRH and or final hearing depending on the case.
Will all judges sitting in the CFC be able to offer settlement conferences?
His Honour Judge Tolson QC has indicated that only a limited number of judges will be able to conduct settlement conferences.
What happens if it is not possible to reach a settlement?
If the case does not reach a settlement, then the matter will be listed before a different judge for further hearings. Everything which had been discussed in the settlement conference will remain confidential and parties will not be able to rely upon it at any further hearing.
If it is not possible to settle the case at the first settlement conference the court may list a further settlement conference with the consent of all the parties.
How will it work practically?
At the hearing the local authority will be invited to set out the issues and parties' positions. The Judge will then come down from the bench and speak to the parties individually. The Judge will explore how the issues can be resolved and try and get all parties to reach an agreed resolution (the judge would have read the majority of the papers and will steer the case to the resolution which he/she believes will be the outcome at the final hearing). The tape will be on during all the conversations and the judge will address parties directly rather than through their legal representative during these informal discussions.
The role of the legal representative during a conference is limited to only speaking on behalf of their client when all parties are present and advising the client outside of the court after discussions with the judge.
June 2016 Newsletter
The June 2016 edition of our Newsletter, New Court News, is now available.
To download your copy, just click the link below:
New Court Chambers Newsletter June 2016
This edition includes the following articles:
- New Court News by Robert Wilkinson
- Transparency and the 'interface' between the Court of Protection and the Family Court by Sabrina Polak
- Cheshire West and Children - The Limits on Parental Responsibility by Sarah Nuttall
- Photos from the dinner for Dr Giuseppe Cala
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Welcome to Nicola Hall & Kayleigh Long
We are delighted that Nicola Hall (2006 Call) and Kayleigh Long (2009 Call) have both accepted offers of tenancy with New Court Chambers.
Nicola and Kayleigh join us from Goldsmith Chambers where they have each built up successful and well-established family practises. They are both already well-known to a number of our instructing solicitors and we wish them both long and successful careers with us.
London Legal Walk 2016
Members and staff took part in the 2016 London Legal Walk on 16 May 2016 in aid of the London Legal Support Trust, raising over £600 in the process. The event as a whole involved over 10,000 walkers raising thousands of pounds for this very worthy cause. We'll see you next year!