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After years of campaigning to remove the need to blame one of the parties when seeking to divorce, a new no-fault divorce law is due to be introduced in England and Wales this autumn. Described by the Law Society as “bringing UK divorce law into the 21st century,” the new law is being welcomed as a huge step forward by family law professionals.

Senior associate in our Family Law department, Leah Thomas, explains why this development will be so important to couples wishing to separate.

As lockdown continues and shops, offices and other work premises around the country remain closed, Harding Evans’ associate commercial property solicitor, James Young, examines the restraints that have been placed on commercial landlords’ ability to recover outstanding rents and the options that are still open to them.

The last year has brought a tidal wave of challenges for SMEs across the UK. While many have managed to ride the storm, with government support schemes helping to hold back the tide, the impact on others has been devastating, with latest reports suggesting that the UK is on course to lose a quarter of a million small businesses in 2021.

Harding Evans head of dispute resolution, Ben Jenkins, provides some tips to business owners on how to negotiate the threat of insolvency.

Being asked to act as an executor can be a real honour. It shows that the person making the Will trusts you implicitly to carry out their final wishes.

Some executors decide to collect the Will and apply for a grant of probate to execute the Will themselves, without any professional legal support. In many cases, this is because they think that engaging a solicitor will be expensive and time consuming but it is worth remembering that administering an estate is not always straightforward and there can be many pitfalls to look out for.

Here, our head of Wills and Probate, Laura Selby, highlights the most common problems that people can encounter when they take on the role of executor without seeking professional legal support:

Head of Employment law, Daniel Wilde, answers the single most common question posed by working parents regarding their employment rights:

“I am struggling to keep to my work commitments while also having to look after my children. What are my options?”

Financial remedy, the division of financial assets when married couples separate, is a significant element of the divorce process as the outcome will have both immediate and long-term impacts on the couples and their children.

Leah Thomas, a senior associate in our Family Law department, examines the effect that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on this vital stage of the divorce process.

With ambitious targets in place for the Covid-19 vaccine to be rolled out to priority groups across the UK, hopefully it will not be long before all adults are offered the vaccine and we can begin to return to some sort of normality. But while the vaccine is certainly welcome news and provides a glimmer of light at the end of a very long tunnel, it will no doubt present certain challenges for employers.

Our head of employment law, Daniel Wilde, examines the main issues.

Some of the most harrowing work that we do here at Harding Evans is within our Actions Against Public Authorities team. This team represents people who have been badly treated by those in positions of power, often resulting in psychological damage and in extreme cases, even death.

Over the last year, Craig Court, the senior associate solicitor who leads on this work, has seen a sharp increase in the number of Article 2 inquests that his team is having to deal with. Here, Craig explains more about this type of inquest and discusses this worrying trend that seems to be emerging.

As a landmark High Court judgment has ruled that bailiffs will be able to virtually take control of the belongings of people who are in debt, without physically attending inside their home, William Watkins, who heads up our debt recovery team gives his reaction.

This week is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week. With the additional pressures currently being presented by the pandemic, it is more important than ever for people to do all they can to reduce the risk of developing any serious illness and to educate others on how to do the same. Our senior associate medical negligence solicitor, Danielle Howell, explains why awareness weeks like these are so vital.

Electric vehicle usage is on the rise and soon all businesses in the UK will need to provide employee and customer electric car charging. Our associate commercial solicitor, James Young, talks us through some of the benefits and considerations of installing electric vehicle charge points, both for employers and commercial landlords.

Leaving instructions for what should happen to your dependants, possessions and finances after your death is incredibly important and yet only around a third of UK adults have made a Will. With many people unsure as to what they should include in their Will, associate solicitor Afonwy Howell-Pryce, explains what you need to cover.