It’s good to start the New Year on the basis that we have good things to celebrate from the year that has just passed! In 2024 we at Bastian Lloyd Morris Solicitor Advocates (BLM) were part of the team that won the Lexis Nexis Family Law Case of the Year award. This was even more pleasing given that it is the second time in 3 years that we have won this prestigious award. We also won it in 2022. ‘Be not afraid of greatness’ – the Supreme Court has virtually become our second home!
The Family Law Case of the Year award is only presented to the legal teams who are involved in one of the most important family law cases which concluded during the previous 12 months. The case may be significant in that it has established a new precedent, determined a new legal principle or otherwise substantially affected the interpretation of existing law. Most of the cases nominated for this category of award have involved either international family law issues, or disputes relating to vulnerable children, or serious matters relating to long-standing domestic abuse. Often all 3. All of the nominated cases, under any objective analysis, have impacted upon the central importance of the family in modern society. This is important as modern families are often diverse, multi-national and multi-cultural. The winner of the category is decided by a judging panel of eminent practitioners.
BLM is very proud of its success in winning the awards. These achievements underline the fact that our lawyers have the experience and expertise to deal with complex family law cases, which have complicated factual matrices in a manner most consistent with our ethos of achieving the best possible outcomes.
Obviously now is not the time to deal with the legal intricacies of either case①, but both have set important precedents for Judges, lawyers, academics and litigants. Both have clarified the Courts’ duties and responsibilities, given important guidance to advocates, and set firm platforms from which clear and unambiguous advice can be given to clients. Both cases now allow the Courts to say ‘this is the law of the land’. It goes without saying that certainty and clarity are important tools for us advising our clients and helping them to put their cases before the Courts.
In the 2022 case the Supreme Court ruled that both the Trial Court and the Court of Appeal had erred in failing to consider the proportionality of the order to permanently remove the children from their parents’ care. It therefore revoked the removal orders. In the 2024 case the President of the Family Division took the opportunity to reaffirm the wide and flexible powers of the Family Court nearly ten years after its formation.
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H-W (Children); H-W (Children) (No 2) [2022] UKSC 17 (Re H-W)
K (Children) (Powers of the Family Court) [2024] EWCA Civ 2 (11 January 2024)
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