Today's Family Lawyer Podcast

In this latest Today's Family Lawyer Podcast host David Opie welcomes Laura Tanguay and Lucy Birch from Birketts LLP to discuss the launch of their Modern Families service.  Lucy Birch is a senior associate in the family team, and Laura Tanguay is a legal director in the property disputes team; with the podcast exploring how this unique combination of expertise is central to the Modern Famili...

Today's Family Lawyer Podcast host David Opie welcomes Kate Daly, co-founder of amicable to discuss the evolution of the business since it launched in 2015; to a point where it now is one of the largest providers of family law services in the UK by virtue of the number of consent orders it submits annually.  Founded by Kate, a counsellor with a background in psychology, and Pip Wilson, and dr...

The Co-Parent Way is a co-parenting methodology developed by Marcie Shaoul; with a history working in the diplomatic service in 2016 Marcie launched her consultancy aimed at helping co-parents better communicate with one another and place their children at the centre of the relationship.  She describes how she saw the same patterns emerging in separating couples after her work with government and...

In the latest episode of the Today's Family Lawyer podcast, host David Opie sits down with James Nutt, Laboratory Operations Manager at Cansford Laboratories, to explore a fresh perspective on the use of hair strand testing in the family courts. This episode delves into the complexities behind what many might see as a straightforward scientific process. James offers an alternative view on how...

Podcast host David Opie is joined by Rukhsana Koser and Sarah Palmer, Solicitor’s at Enable Law, to discuss Special Educational Needs (SEN) and family law and shed light on the increasing challenges families face and how legal expertise can make a significant impact. With personal experience growing up alongside siblings with learning difficulties, Rukhsana brings over a decade of experience in ed...

Podcast host David Opie in joined by CEO of the charity LawCare, Elizabeth Rimmer, to discuss their latest "Life in the Law" surveys which are now open for completion until Friday 21st March.  LawCare supports and promotes mental health and wellbeing across the legal services sector. They have 2 main focuses. Their first is in providing direct support on and offline for those who wish to...

The Today's Family Lawyer Podcast welcomes back Dan Warburton, a law firm consultant and trainer who specialises in helping individuals delegate work more effectively; in the process junior staff are elevated, the individual has a happier work/life balance, and ultimately the firm can be more profitable.  It's a soapbox Dan has jumped on before having appeared previously on the podcast t...

In the latest Today’s Family Lawyer Podcast host David Opie discusses the role of intermediaries in the justice system with Lucy Osmond, Lead Practitioner at Communicourt. With over a decade of experience in facilitated communication, Osmond sheds light on the essential work Communicourt does in supporting HMCTS and ensuring that all court users can effectively engage with proceedings. Communicour...

Launching the latest series of the Today's Family Lawyer Podcast, host David Opie is joined by Head of the Family Department at Chester-based Oliver & Co Solicitors Alex Reagan to discuss the firm's proactive approach to marketing to help build the firm's profile. Having launched a social media series called Family Fact Friday the firm has been using its presence, alongside othe...

Vanda James and Tom Quinn, both partners at Birketts LLP, join the latest Today's Family Lawyer to discuss the current sentiment around alternative and out of court dispute resolution.  Amongst the points up for discussion are Does out of court dispute resolution force people down a route that may ultimately end up in a more unfavourable settlement than they would get in court?  Is the cultur...

As one of the disruptors in the wake of the Legal Services Act 2007 QualitySolicitors (QS) was launched in 2009 with the ambition to help the high street fight back against the anticipated onslaught of major brands entering the legal market - so-called 'Tesco Law.' QS grew rapidly, with firms up and down the country adopting the familiar black and pink branding, adding the name "Qua...

The challenges of rising cost of living, wage growth, and getting on the property ladder has seen a significant increase in financial support offered by parents and grandparents to children.  1 in 3 first time buyers are cohabitees, and according to the Office for National Statistics figures there has been a 20% increase in the number of people not in marriages or civil partnership cohabiting sinc...

The latest Today's Family Lawyer Podcast explores the increasing importance of specialising in certain areas of the law and being regarded as an expert in your field.  Kim Lehal, Partner and Head of International Children at RWK Goodman, is one of just 49 accredited firms on the Ministry of Justice's Child Abduction: Accredited Solicitors Referral List. As such she is regarded as an expe...

Joining the latest Today's Family Lawyer Podcast is Dan Temple, an expert in acknowledging and understanding the human impact of working, and managing employees and businesses. The discussion centres on creating effective and high performing teams, and what steps law firms can, and should, be taking to enable this in their business. Dan leads Cobalt Human Solutions, a training consultancy whi...

Pre-nups, post-nups, separation agreements and cohabitation agreements are all part of the discussion on the latest Today's Family Lawyer podcast with Kathryn Cassells of Vaitilingam Kay Solicitors as we deep dive into this increasingly popular world.  As Kathryn quite rightly points out of course, nuptial agreements are not binding contracts in England and Wales and therefore the courts reta...

Victoria Cannon joins the latest Today's Family Lawyer podcast to discuss her experiences of launching, running and ultimately exiting her family law practice. With a relatively unique journey into the profession, Victoria brings a range of life and personal experiences to her role now, as Head of the Family Team at Hugh James.  She talks about her decision to focus on family law and the chal...

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently requested law firms complete an anti-money laundering and sanctions data collection exercise. The SRA is required by Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) to take a risk-based approach to supervision and is requesting firms complete the requested information as full as possible. It will, they say enable them to...

Caroline Glass is private domestic abuse advisor having worked extensively throughout her career with those impacted by domestci abuse. She had been part of the charity Refuge and was also an Independent Domestic Abuse Advisor (IDVA) in Lambeth. She has since decided to become a private advisor and joins the latest Today's Family Lawyer Podcast to discuss her work and the way she works with f...

Reporting Manager at Lextox Donna Muldoon joins host David Opie in the latest Today's Family Lawyer Podcast to discuss the practicalities of drug and alcohol testing on hair samples. If you ever wanted to understand how the drug and alcohol tests family practitioners instruct happen, this is the podcast to listen to.  At the outset of the discussion Donna explains how the process works; from...

Lisa Payne is an Associate at Wilsons Solicitors and joins the latest Today's Family Lawyer podcast to discuss 'Resolution Together.' Also know as one lawyer, two clients, Wilsons have introduced the service in their firm with Lisa taking a leading role in championing it amongst the team and clients.  In this podcast Lisa discusses the impact it is having on her clients and her own...

Never talk about politics or religion... while the latest Today's Family Lawyer podcast swerves the first, it tackles the second in a fascinating discussion with RWK Goodman's Clizia Motterle and Farzana Iqbal. Divorce is a legal process not a religious one; however practitioners should be au fait with the cultural and religious background and diversity that is associated with divorce. R...

A sometimes overlooked and undervalued element of divorce proceedings is dealing with pensions which can have significant repercussions for those divorcing and places family practitioners in an important position of ensuring that both parties are adequately provided for both now and in the future.  To discuss this thorny issue, Natalie Lester, a partner in the family team at Debenhams Ottaway, joi...

In this specially recorded podcast, the Today's Family Lawyer podcast joins forces with its sister podcasts from the Today's Conveyancer and Today's Wills and Probate online news publications to discuss the topic of mental health and wellbeing ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, from 13th May 2024.  Podcast host David Opie welcomes Rayden Solicitors' Legal Director Marc Ethe...

Hamza Hafesji, Group Product Manager at Advanced Legal, joins the latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast to discuss the importance of implementing a culture of performance management in a business.  For years the only time most employees receive any sort of constructive feedback has been in an annual appraisal. For Hamza, something has to fundamentally change and feedback must be much more of an ongoi...

This latest podcast from Today's Family Lawyer explores the perennial question on the minds and lips of most businesses... what do clients really want? A report from Law Firm Marketing Club does just that. Now in it's 4th year, "What Clients Want" is an extensive piece of research which asks consumers of legal services what they want from their law firm; from first introduction...