Breaking down silos: family law in the UK in 2024 and beyond

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Breaking down silos: family law in the UK in 2024 and beyond

As familial relationships become increasingly complex, the law governing these relationships does too. With the idea of the family unit extending to include unmarried, cohabiting couples and nontraditional routes to parenthood, the law surrounding and protecting all families is shifting to reflect this.

Unmarried couples were declared the fastest growing family type in the UK in 2019, with the Office for National Statistics reporting a 25.8% increase in cohabiting couples from 2008 to 2018. Despite this, and despite the fact that other countries such as New Zealand and Australia have provisions for so-called ‘de-facto’ relationships, there are currently no protections for couples in this position in the UK.
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Planning for the unpredictable: navigating the private wealth market amid political uncertainty

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Planning for the unpredictable: navigating the private wealth market amid political uncertainty

Vying political parties and a constantly fluctuating international climate are driving firms to further develop their private wealth practices in the UK in a bid to capture work from the lucrative sector.

Most recently, Addleshaw Goddard launched a private wealth finance offering in London with the addition of partner Laura Uberoi from Macfarlanes to service private bank, family office and high net worth clients around the world. The hire comes as firms including Maurice Turnor Gardner, Hunters Law, Mishcon de Reya and Stephenson Harwood are also recruiting for their burgeoning practices.
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Private Client perspectives: Ashley Crossley

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Private Client perspectives: Ashley Crossley

What made you decide to become a lawyer and why private client?

My parents divorced at an early age, and I became very interested in how the law dealt with people and their relationships. That grew into an interest in law generally and how it could be used to solve problems. Having an interest in people and problem-solving meant private client work was a natural choice for me. It combines dealing with individuals’ personal issues, when they are often in a stressful or difficult situation, with helping solve their problems for them so they can move forward. Private client just seemed a natural and interesting choice for me. Continue reading “Private Client perspectives: Ashley Crossley”

Private Client perspectives: Sandra Davis

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Private Client perspectives: Sandra Davis

What made you decide to become a lawyer and why practise family law?

I’m naturally a problem solver, and I’ve always wanted to make a difference. Family law makes a real difference to people’s lives. We can help make a bad situation better, create calm in an emotional storm, and save children from the turmoil by early intervention. I’m motivated by providing solutions that are creative, rather than those that are formulaic. Continue reading “Private Client perspectives: Sandra Davis”

Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit: Stranger than fiction

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Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit: Stranger than fiction

Even amid a stellar agenda at Legal Business’ Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit 2023 last November, CMS’ session – Shams and charades: Lessons learned from abusive litigation against banks – made shockwaves around the auditorium of the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London’s Westminster.

Indeed, it’s not often that a panel discussion elicits gasps of astonishment from delegates, but that’s exactly what happened when CMS’ finance disputes partners Tom Dane and Vanessa Whitman (pictured) sat down with Neil Kitchener KC of One Essex Court to discuss their experience representing Allied Irish Banks in the curious case of Kallakis v AIB. Continue reading “Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit: Stranger than fiction”

Baker McKenzie: One eye open

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Baker McKenzie: One eye open

‘What defines Baker McKenzie over the last few years is the sheer amount of work that has gone into financial integration. This is a massive achievement but it has come at a cost. Now, establishing the differentiator to attract the next generation is important. It isn’t going to turn into Kirkland & Ellis, but what is going to drive that entrepreneurial aspect now Bakers looks more like other firms?’ So speaks one commentator of the quandary facing Baker McKenzie, a sentiment reprising a prevailing theme of our 2017 deep dive into the firm, ‘Waking the Giant’, which found a firm struggling to maintain its unique international selling point amid escalating globalisation of Big Law.

Then, the firm had just embarked on a new and ambitious phase, with the respected veteran intellectual property (IP) partner Paul Rawlinson instated as its first British chair in October 2016. The mandate? To implement the firm’s 2020 strategy, which focused on integrating Bakers across three profit pools, increasing profitability and growing the firm’s transactional practices in London, New York and China. Continue reading “Baker McKenzie: One eye open”