/news/ en dh@iflg.uk.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-01T10:30:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/lucy-loizou-meets-the-president-of-cyprus/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/lucy-loizou-meets-the-president-of-cyprus/#When:10:30:00Z Sunday 16th May 2010 was a symbolic day for Solicitor and Associate, Lucy Loizou of the International Family Law Group. She was invited to meet the President of Cyprus, Mr. Dimitris. Christofias (see photo below). The President was in the country to launch Greek Cypriots Worldwide, a publication dedicated to Cypriot/Greek professionals worldwide. Lucy is featured in the publication as one of the leading Greek Cypriot family solicitors in the country. She has said that it was one of the proudest moments of her professional career to date. Lucy is growing in reputation in the Greek/Cypriot community. She writes a monthly column in the national Greek newspaper and also has her own fortnightly radio show where she advises on family law. The International Family Law Group has recently celebrated its 3rd birthday and continues to be one of the leading practices for national and international family law. 2010-07-01T10:30:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/iflg-welcomes-new-recruits/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/iflg-welcomes-new-recruits/#When:18:25:01Z The International Family Law Group is pleased to welcome Lucy Loizou, solicitor and associate, and Hannah Budd, assistant solicitor, along with Katie Harris, paralegal. Lucy and Hannah had previously worked for large Surrey practices and will provide considerable assistance in the finance and forum work of iFLG. Lucy undertakes complex financial and children disputes. She has worked on a number of cases involving high net worth issues often involving an international element. This has included a number of high profile individuals. She has experience in financial cases involving foreign trusts. Lucy also advises clients considering entering into pre-nuptial agreements and co-habitation agreements and those seeking emergency injunctions. Lucy is Cypriot and fluent Greek speaker. She has had articles published in legal journals. She has also had experience dealing with the national media. Lucy has been founder and Past chair Surrey Young Resolution and Co-ordinator of establishing Young Resolution groups across the country. She is a Member of Resolution’s National Membership Development Committee Hannah Budd is an assistant solicitor at iFLG, working primarily with David Hodson and Punam Denley. She graduated in Law and Business Studies at Warwick University and worked at a large firm in Surrey before joining iFLG in January 2010. Hannah has experience of a wide range of family matters with a particular emphasis on resolving financial disputes. Katie Harris specialises in law and psychology and is preparing for a doctorate in clinical psychology. She is a paralegal at iFLG. More details can be found at http://iflg.uk.com/en/who-we-are/ Ann Thomas, managing partner of iFLG said: “We are so pleased that Lucy, Hannah and Katie have joined us. This will mean we will be able to provide even better work for our clients and we have lawyers at a wide range of charging rates and therefore provide more cost efficiency in our services” 2010-01-11T18:25:01+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/iflg-sponsors-major-international-children-conference/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/iflg-sponsors-major-international-children-conference/#When:18:24:00Z The International Family Law Group is proud to be a major sponsor of a very crucial and important conference in June 2010 on international child abduction, child relocation and forced marriages. The conference is being arranged by the London Metropolitan University. Speakers and delegates are coming from across the world. They include leading academics, practitioners and judges. The conference is vitally important: with the dramatic increase in the number of international families travelling for work and other reasons across national borders, there are now many children for whom the laws of more than one country may apply, and often applied very unsatisfactory. Child abduction is on the increase. There are still very many countries who are not signatories to the Hague convention. Child relocation, when one parent wants to move abroad with the child, is always traumatic for the child and the so-called left behind parent. Laws about allowing child relocation differ dramatically across the world. England has led the way globally in tackling the appalling hardships and distress of forced marriages involving young adults and sometimes teenage children. Many of these problems can only be resolved by global consensus and co-working. David Hodson is chairing one of the sessions and Ann Thomas and Carolynn Usher are speakers. Further details of the conference can be found at http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/lgir/centre-for-family-law-and-practice/inaugural-conference Carolynn Usher commented “At iFLG, we undertake a significant amount of work looking after the interests of children of international families. There is much which can be accomplished for their best interests. Nevertheless there needs to be more co-operation worldwide and a better understanding of looking after the best interests of these international children. We are very pleased to be able to sponsor this conference and look forward hugely to the benefits it will provide for the future in this important area of family law.” 2009-12-14T18:24:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/major-developments-in-the-continued-success-of-iflg/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/major-developments-in-the-continued-success-of-iflg/#When:18:17:00Z iFLG is delighted to announce two major developments in its continued success as a leading international family law practice. The entire family law team of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, led by Carolynn Usher, has joined iFLG. Leading Australian family law firm, Watts McCray, of Sydney, Canberra and Parramatta, and iFLG have announced their association. On 1 September 2009, the entire family law team of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, led by Carolynn Usher, will be joining iFLG. Carolynn brings with her a team of specialist lawyers experienced in international work, both finance and children. Helen Blackburn and Lucy Greenwood join as partners along with paralegal, Stuart Clark, and their support team. Carolynn is one of the world’s leading international children lawyers, having been practising in this area for over 30 years. Chambers UK describes her: “A star in her own right, the hugely respected Carolynn Usher is “right at the pinnacle” of child abduction work”. iFLG will then consist of 6 partners and consultants with 4 assistant lawyers (including 4 mediators, 3 collaborative lawyers and an arbitrator), undertaking specialist and complex family law work for national and international families and children. Also on 1 September 2009, iFLG and leading Australian family law firm, Watts McCray, of Sydney, Canberra and Parramatta are delighted to announce their association. Each firm has a worldwide acknowledged specialisation in family law work with an international element. The (non-exclusive) association will enable each firm to work more closely, quickly and efficiently for their clients in cross border cases. The two firms will be able to provide improved, combined specialist services to assist international families and their many clients with close connections between England and Australia. Each firm already receives many instructions from law firms in the other country and this association will allow them each to provide an even better service. They will share information on international and national family laws, collaborate on cross-border ADR, pool resources as required, and enable Anglo Australian exchanges of lawyers and support staff. This is believed to be the first such arrangement between leading international family law practices in different continents. Further details are in the attached media release 2009-08-27T18:17:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/the-centre-for-social-justice-launches-proposals-for-wholesale-reform-of-fa/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/the-centre-for-social-justice-launches-proposals-for-wholesale-reform-of-fa/#When:11:22:00Z At the Palace of Westminster today (13 July 2009), Iain Duncan Smith MP, founder of the Centre for Social Justice has launched the report “Every Family Matters” of the CSJ Family Law Review. It contains 130 recommendations covering broad policy and specific detail of law reform. It is probably the most far reaching review of English family law for several decades. The Review comprises leading lawyers, academics, policymakers and experts working with children. It saw over 150 consultees including senior judiciary and many interested parties and lobbying organisations, considered the law and procedure in other countries, took written evidence and two members travelled to Australia to investigate their Family Relationship Centres. David Hodson was chair of the Review. Downloadable from this site (via our home page) are its final report, the executive summary and a separate document containing its full recommendations. Also downloadable is the speech by David Hodson at the launch and a Key Family Law Factsheet More details of the Centre for Social Justice can be found at http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk Some of the recommendations include: strong government encouragement to pre-marriage information creation of Family Relationship Hubs based on the Australian model of FRCs, to act as a focus for family support services greater reference to couple relationship education requirement for all parties commencing family court proceedings first to receive information regarding out-of-court methods of resolution including mediation, implications and consequences of proceedings including for children, costs and other aspects of court proceedings three month cooling off period, period of reflection and consideration, at the commencement of the divorce process binding prenuptial and other marital agreements significant reform of financial provision on divorce amendments to the Children Act to provide for the significant involvement of both parents in the lives of children greater automatic rights for grandparents opposition to cuts in legal aid and to reinstate opportunities for representation for those who cannot afford it, through legal aid, interim lump sums and litigation loans ongoing appraisal of the impact of domestic violence other steps to support and encourage family life and strengthen marriage The CSJ Family Law Review had produced an interim report in April 2009, European Family Law: Faster Divorce and Foreign Law This 24 page report looks to challenge the divorce trend that has been reinforced by the European Union. The paper looks at four major themes: Remove lis pendens from European Family Law which encourages international couples to rush the divorce court to gain financial advantage over each other Keep individual countries’ own family law rather than a universal law imposed by Brussels The country with the closest connection to the international couple should deal with the proceedings Encourage Brussels to slow down its programme of European Family Law reform to take in to account traditions of family life and law around Europe. 2009-07-13T11:22:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/when-cupids-arrow-crosses-national-boundaries/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/when-cupids-arrow-crosses-national-boundaries/#When:18:48:00Z David Hodson and Ann Thomas of iFLG have just written and published “WHEN CUPID’S ARROW CROSSES NATIONAL BOUNDARIES: a guide for international families”.  It is available now from iFLG.  See the attached flyer   It is an easy to read and essential companion for international families and those working abroad who form romantic relationships.  It guides the reader through the complex area of international family law.   It deals with practical issues during relationships.  It helps the reader to use the legal system to their advantage in any relationship breakdown.   WHEN CUPID’S ARROW CROSSES NATIONAL BOUNDARIES is in a question and answer, user friendly format and offers sound suggestions and practical advice.  It contains useful web links and an indispensable glossary of commonly used legal terms.     Price £14.50 (£15 inclusive of postage and packing within the UK).  For further details contact David Hodson at iFLG 2009-07-08T18:48:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/judicial-encouragement-to-pre-marriage-and-other-marital-agreements/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/judicial-encouragement-to-pre-marriage-and-other-marital-agreements/#When:13:14:00Z The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgement today in the important case of Radmacher v Granatino. Until there can be Parliamentary intervention, perhaps as a consequence of the forthcoming Law Commission investigation or other recommendations, this case will materially influence judges and practitioners in the weight to be given to marital agreements. The three judgments look not just to the narrow issues in the particular case but at the future for this area of developing law and social policy. Whilst like most Court of Appeal ancillary relief decisions it relates to big money and relatively narrow facts, unlikely often to be repeated, in this instance the Court of Appeal has handed down a judgement to provide wider guidance. Moreover whilst the case itself concerned a pre-marriage agreement in the international dimension, the remarks by the judges were equally directed to purely national couples and agreements entered into in this country. At paragraph 53 of the judgment Lord Justice Thorpe made the following statement: “in future cases broadly in line with the present case on the facts, the judge should give due weight to the marital property regime into which the parties freely entered. This is not to apply foreign law, nor is it to give effect to a contract foreign to English tradition. It is, in my judgment, a legitimate exercise of the very wide discretion that is conferred on the judges to achieve fairness between the parties to the ancillary relief proceedings.” By reference to marital property regime in the international context there should also be construed the marital agreement regime in the national context i.e. what the parties agreed before and during the marriage in substitution for what might be the outcome of an adjudicated settlement at court on divorce. This takes the law further towards support for marital agreements than even the observations in Crossley (2007) EWCA Civ 1491 in which the agreement was referred to as of “magnetic” and “paramount importance”. David Hodson has written a published article explaining the background to the case, the present position in law and good practice guidance for practitioners 2009-06-25T13:14:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/myerson-dont-go-there-setting-aside-divorce-settlements-because-of-dramatic/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/myerson-dont-go-there-setting-aside-divorce-settlements-because-of-dramatic/#When:12:14:00Z Anyone reading the Court of Appeal judgment and media reports on the Brian and Ingrid Myerson case of 11th March 2009 could be forgiven for thinking that if he could not succeed in setting aside his divorce settlement because of the dramatic change in the economy and his financial fortunes, what are the chances for lesser mortals? The chances may be very slim indeed. The Court of Appeal gave a firm indication that such applications would be unlikely to succeed. Nevertheless we consider that there maybe good reasons to be cautiously optimistic in appropriate circumstances in seeking to set aside a final family court order where there have been dramatic changes in the finances as a consequence of the recession. Further details are given on the information pages 2009-04-24T12:14:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/reviews-of-a-practical-guide-to-international-family-law-by-david-hodson/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/reviews-of-a-practical-guide-to-international-family-law-by-david-hodson/#When:14:32:00Z This book published by Jordans in July 2008 has received some excellent reviews. Two are set out below. The first is by Catherine Jones and was published on Family Law Week. The second was published in Jordans Family Law magazine by Professor Nigel Lowe of the University of Cardiff. Copies of the book can be obtained from Jordans or from iFLG. 2009-04-14T14:32:00+00:00 http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/eu-maintenance/ http://www.iflg.uk.com/en/news/eu-maintenance/#When:14:19:00Z This EU Regulation came into force on 30 January, 2009. It will generally apply from June 2011 subject to progress with other international legislation. In summary it replaces Brussels I in respect of family law maintenance obligations. The intention is that a maintenance creditor should be able to obtain easily in a member state a decision which will be automatically enforceable in another member state without further formalities. At present the UK has not opted in. However it is anticipated that the UK will have done so by the time the Regulation applies. See the longer background article on the information pages, international finance and forum. 2009-01-30T14:19:00+00:00