The President of the Family Division has circulated guidance as to the conduct of business in the Family Justice System in light of the current public health emergency. Read Here.

1GC Family Law is continuing to operate at full capacity via remote working. We are well-equipped to engage with remote, telephone and video hearings, as well as to provide state-of-the-art video-conferencing for meetings, conferences, private FDRs and arbitrations. Our facilities allow us to create completely secure, bespoke virtual “meeting” or “court” rooms, with adjoining “consultation” rooms, which are able to accommodate a large number of attendees. These can be accessed easily and securely by anyone with a laptop or mobile phone. Our arrangements are well-tested, and we have facilitated a number of court hearings and other matters remotely over recent years since the move to our new home

We have had numerous enquiries about arbitration, particularly in light of the imminent expansion in scope of the IFLA children arbitration scheme to permit an accredited arbitrator to determine temporary and permanent leave to remove applications to many foreign jurisdictions (see link at the end of this article). It has become clear from enquiries that it is not generally known that arbitrators may make determinations in suitable cases on consideration of the papers alone. We are attaching a leaflet about our Chambers arbitration service in case this is of interest. We had planned to launch this closer to Spring time but in light of recent developments we will begin offering the service immediately and attached are full details in case this is of interest (see link at the end of this article).

We are committed to supporting the continued operation of the Family Justice System in a safe way, and to helping you to reduce the impact of the current crisis on you and your clients. 

Please do contact us to discuss how we can assist you on 020 7797 7900 or at clerks@1gc.com.