Recent statistics from the Office for National Statistics show there were 107,599 opposite-sex divorces in 2019, an increase from 90,871 in 2018. There were also 822 same-sex divorces, compared to 428 in 2018.

​It is National Pro Bono and Trustees week, a chance to celebrate the breadth and impact of the charity work undertaken by the legal professionals at Ramsdens.

​Former professional rugby league player, Jamie Jones-Buchanan has spoken out against domestic abuse after losing his cousin, Bethany Fields who was stabbed to death by her ex-partner in Huddersfield last year. Bethany’s abuser, Paul Crowther has received a life sentence for the attack.

If a client cannot afford to travel to the office, perhaps due to financial control, or is unable to leave the house, perhaps because of their abuser, we are able to deal with matters over the telephone and/or email. We also work with the Local Authority and local charities to try to source funds for the client to get the help they need, whether that be funds for public transport or a place at refuge.

We are delighted to have achieved another year of great rankings in the Legal 500. This year we’ve ranked in eight practice areas across our Business and Personal services (including Corporate and Commercial, Commercial Litigation, Employment, Commercial Property, Family, Contentious Probate, Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate and Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury: Claimant) and 20 solicitors have been recommended for their work.

We are seeing an increasing number of enquiries from single parents who are confused by the apparent ever changing government guidance of social interaction due to the impact of COVID-19. A support bubble is a close support network between a household with only one adult in the home (known as a single-adult household) and one other household of any size.

An Occupation Order is a Court Order that can be obtained to specify who can and cannot live in a property in order to protect victims of domestic abuse (which not only includes physical abuse but other forms such as emotional or financial abuse).

At the end of this month, ITV’s new two part factual drama ‘Honour’ is set to air. The programme shows the real-life investigation into the ‘honour’ killing of a young woman in London, Banaz Mahmod by her family in 2006.