In honour of our friend and colleague, Araba Taylor

In honour of our friend and colleague, Araba Taylor

In honour of our friend and colleague, Araba Taylor

Chambers is saddened to announce the sudden death of our beloved friend and colleague Araba Taylor.

As well as being an outstanding advocate, Araba was a kind, loving, generous and joyful person.  She will be deeply missed by everyone in Chambers.

We are all struggling to deal with her sudden loss, but thank all the members of the Legal community who have extended their condolences and best wishes at this time.

Our thoughts go out to her family at this difficult time.  She will be sadly missed.

Fenners welcomes new barrister

Fenners welcomes new barrister

Fenners welcomes new barrister

We are delighted to welcome Penny Van Spall to chambers.

Penny Van Spall is an experienced child law practitioner specialising in both public and private law proceedings. With a background as a social worker and probation officer, Penny brings empathy and clear advice to cases where mental health issues and capacity require a carefully considered approach.

We are glad to have you as part of the team, Penny!

Read Penny’s profile here.

Fenners Chambers 50th Anniversary

Fenners Chambers 50th Anniversary

Fenners Chambers 50th Anniversary

Leading barristers’ chambers in East Anglia, Fenners Chambers is celebrating its 50th year. Established in 1973, initially an annexe of a distinguished chambers in London, as the brainchild of Kenneth Wheeler, a senior barrister in those chambers who saw new opportunities for the legal profession. Fenners has since been on a journey of unalloyed growth and success. In celebration of the anniversary, one it of its founding members, Michael Yelton, later judge of the Cambridge County Court, and former Head of Chambers Paul Hollow, came together to chronicle its history in Fenners Chambers: The First 50 Years.

In a time when the bar was concentrated in London and a handful of provincial cities, Wheeler and his colleagues saw an opportune moment to challenge the status quo, establishing the chambers in Cambridge. From modest beginnings with just six young members, Fenners has undergone a remarkable journey of growth, expanding to an impressive 54 members; testament to its enduring success. This growth has been built not only on the ability of its legal members but on its clerking and management operation.

Alongside this growth, the diversity of the chambers has flourished with membership almost equally balanced between men and women, well above the national average of 39.7% of women at the Bar¹, with many of its female members in high positions and awarded important accolades. The chambers has also earned itself a distinguished reputation within the local legal community, particularly at the county court level, with a high number of members appointed as judges.

Fenners hosted a Golden Anniversary ball at Chambers on the 1st of July to celebrate its history and the remarkable contributions members present, and former, have made to the legal profession. Alongside celebrating the anniversary, guests also supported Chambers in raising nearly £5,000 for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, and Coram Children’s Legal Centre.

Commenting on this milestone, Andrew Gore, who joined in 1975 and is now the senior member, said “In the early years some people regarded us as merely a band of young upstarts. We certainly disproved that. Having grown from strength to strength, with over 50 members by our 50th year, I’m proud of the reputation we have built across the East of England and look forward to more success in years to come.”

Those interested in reading Fenners Chambers: The First 50 Years, can find a copy on the Fenners website.

 

 

 

¹Bar Standard Board’s Diversity Report 2022

Webinar – Planning Together For Children

Here you will find the video and presentations from the Fenners and LFJB Webinar, ‘Planning Together for Children’.

Thank-you for your attendance, and thanks to our brilliant speakers for their support in this event:

Planning Together for Children, Jude Edwards from CAFCASS

Fact Finding Hearings –Current Guidance, HHJ Gordon-Saker DFJ

Moving Towards Mediation, Jane Bridge from The Family Mediation Trust

Please find the documents below:

Planning Together for Children Presentation

Planning Together for Children Factsheet

Mediation Update

Advisory Notice by Mr Justice Peel, Judge in Charge of the Standard Orders

Following the commitment to review Standard Family Orders (“SFOs”) made in January 2022, Mr Justice Peel announces the results of this review in the below statement, which highlights the changes made to SFOs, along with guidance as to how such orders should be drafted.

“I make this announcement with the authority of the President (of the Family Division).

On 18 January 2022, Mostyn J, the judge then in charge of Standard Family Orders (“SFOs”), announced a wide ranging review of the SFOs. I continued the review after succeeding him on 26 April 2022. HHJ Hess was appointed to lead the review of the financial remedy SFOs, with the assistance of Amy Kisser and Nicholas Allen KC. HHJ Moradifar was appointed to lead the review of the children SFOs, with the assistance of Steven Howard, Nastassia Hylton, Edward Bennett and Alexander Laing. I am enormously grateful to them all for their immense work in undertaking this exercise.

I am also grateful to Melissa Chapman of Class Legal who carried out a complete overview of formatting and layout. Class Legal produce an online package of the SFOs, which is free to access for any member of the judiciary (full time or part time) with an ejudiciary account; they can be contacted on info@classlegal.com

As part of the review process, Mostyn J announced a consultation period. A full list of those who responded is attached at Appendix A. It includes judges, barristers, solicitors and various organisations.

The significant volume of responses, combined with the detailed consideration given to the SFOs by the Standard Orders Group, has led to a number of revisions. In part, they reflect changes in law, practice and procedure. In part, they have been amended to achieve internal consistency and clarity of phraseology. Formatting and stylistic improvements have also been made.

As before, the SFOs do not have the status of “forms” under FPR Part 5. The default position is that they should be used, but parties and the court are permitted to adapt them to such extent as may be appropriate.

Among the main changes to the SFOs are:

  • The orders contain directions supporting the Statement on the Efficient Conduct of Financial Remedy proceedings in the Financial Remedies Court Below High Court Judge level.
  • The orders give a greater steer for the commissioning of SJE experts rather than sole experts, and for their reports to be considered by the court without personal attendance at the hearing.
  • The orders accommodate directions relevant to remote hearings and the guidance on electronic bundles.
  • The financial orders include additional undertakings such as (i) not applying for decree absolute/final decree until 28 days after the making of a financial order (relevant for the making of a pension sharing order); (ii) removal of Land Registry notices; and (iii) obtaining a Get.
  • The orders incorporate the provisions of the Divorce and Dissolution Act 2020, incorporating the new terminology for divorces – conditional order and final order in place of decree nisi and decree absolute – although retaining both options for the time being while this change takes effect.
  • The orders incorporate the provisions of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, including prohibition against cross examination provisions, and the appointment of a Qualified Legal Representative.
  • The financial orders include draft costs orders updated to reflect changes in practice and guidance on costs.
  • The financial orders include draft directions and substantive orders on pensions updated to reflect changes in practice and guidance in this area.
  • The financial orders include a free-standing draft order to accommodate the Accelerated First Appointment procedure.
  • The orders include a Permission to Appeal directions order.
  • The orders incorporate the changes to law and practice brought by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
  • The orders incorporate the new required forms for cases involving committal applications.
  • The orders incorporate, among other updates, an updated Deprivation of Liberty order, an updated standalone Port Alert order, reference to the “Planning Together for Children Course” instead of the “Separated Parents Information Programme”, and the correct contact details for any disclosure request to NHS England.
  • The orders incorporate bespoke headings for the Family Court and the Family Division.
  • The children orders reduce significantly the use of recitals. In general, recitals now appear at the end of children orders, giving greater prominence to the body and substance of the orders.
  • Warning notices have been updated and made consistent.
  • In the children orders, there are separate orders for different stages of public law and private law proceedings, all of which have been made more streamlined.

I attach the updated House Rules which reflect the changes made.

I anticipate that a further, albeit much more limited, review of the SFOs will be undertaken during 2024 once the orders are bedded in and users have experience of them in practice. The Standard Orders group is conscious that, although the intention has always been to provide a comprehensive set of orders to which any user can reach, some of the orders are lengthy and can be time consuming for a judge to draft in a case where both parties are unrepresented. This particularly applies to private law children cases and Family Law Act injunctions. A judge with a busy list of such hearings may be required to draft several orders during the court day. The Standard Orders Group is investigating ways in which this task can be made more streamlined and quicker for judges.

APPENDIX A

Respondents to consultation:

Organisations

Our Family Wizard
Divorce Lifeline
News Media Association
Media Lawyers Association
The Official Solicitor
Association of District Judges
Resolution
FLBA
Peterborough City Council
High Court Cafcass
HMCTS
Office of the President of the Family Division
HM Tipstaff Office
Family Justice Council Experts Group
Judicial Office

Barristers

Chris Wells
Jonathan Briant
Michael Allin
Mark Cooper
Ben Wooldridge
Janine McGuigan
Claire Athis Schofield
Segolene Lapeyre
Matthew Maynard
Catherine Gee
Rebecca Harrington
Gavin Smith
Rhys Taylor
Jane Bacon
Sharin Diegan
Andrew Leong
Emily Driver

Solicitors

Tracy Lambert
Kirstie Gibson
Kadie Bennett
Teena Dhanota-Jones
Carla Ditz
Anna Dunne
Anna Nice
Claire Williams
International Family Law Group
Nadia Tymkiw
Maurice Guyer

Judges

DJ Parker
DJ Peter Hatvany
DDJ Tim Melville-Walker
HHJ Eleanor Owens
DDJ Graham Campbell
HHJ Richard Robinson
DDJ Rachael Oakes
DJ (now CJ) Beth Japheth
HHJ Gordon-Saker
HHJ Richard Clarke
DJ Joanna Geddes
DJ Kevin Harper

Other

Carole Gavin ”

 

Attachments

HouseRules (May2023)

SFO Volume 1 (Zip)

SFO Volume 2 (Zip)