Nicholas Allen KC

Nicholas Allen KC

Barrister and Joint Head of Chambers at 29 Bedford Row (London). Door Tenant at St. Ives (Birmingham). IFLA arbitrator and PFDR/ENE tribunal. Appointe...

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Omissions, Ambiguities and Deficiencies – Seeking Clarification of a Judge’s Reasoning

Omissions, Ambiguities and Deficiencies – Seeking Clarification of a Judge’s Reasoning

‘All judgments are capable of improvement’ observed Peter Jackson LJ in Re O (A Child: Judgment: Adequacy of Reasons) [2021] EWCA Civ 149 at [70]. As a consequence, the appropriate scope of seeking ‘clarification’ of a draft judgment – as opposed to suggesting corrections of a typographical or numerical nature or

Interview with Sir Mathew Thorpe

Interview with Sir Mathew Thorpe

Sir Mathew Thorpe, Barrister from 1961, in silk from 1980, Family Division Judge (1988–95), Lord Justice of Appeal (1995–2013) and Deputy Head of Family Justice and Head of International Family Justice (2005–13). Sir Mathew was interviewed at his Wiltshire home in Autumn 2022. How have you occupied

Myerson No. 1 and FPR 9.17(2): What Can the FDR Judge Actually Do?

Myerson No. 1 and FPR 9.17(2): What Can the FDR Judge Actually Do?

There has long been disagreement over what an FDR judge can – and cannot – do where agreement has not been reached between the parties and, in particular, whether he or she can (and if so should) make directions for a final hearing. By virtue of FPR 9.17(2) the judge

‘For Reasons Which Are Not Fanciful’ – Daniels v Walker Applications in Financial Remedy Cases

‘For Reasons Which Are Not Fanciful’ – Daniels v Walker Applications in Financial Remedy Cases

More than 22 years after it was decided, there remains no reported decision in a financial remedies case in which a court has provided guidance in relation to whether or not to grant a so-called Daniels v Walker [2000] EWCA Civ 508, [2000] 1 WLR 1382 application for the instruction

'A Matter of Clarification' – Written Questions to Experts

'A Matter of Clarification' – Written Questions to Experts

A party’s ability to put written questions to an expert – both one instructed by another party or a single joint expert – is provided for by FPR 25.10. The rule dictates that questions put to an expert must inter alia both be 'proportionate' (r.25(2)(a)

Non-Matrimonial Property – Valuing the Family Business

Non-Matrimonial Property – Valuing the Family Business

“Marriage, it is often said, is a partnership of equals. … The parties commit themselves to sharing their lives. They live and work together. When their partnership ends each is entitled to an equal share of the assets of the partnership, unless there is a good reason to the contrary. Fairness

Nicholas Allen KC

Nicholas Allen KC

Barrister and Joint Head of Chambers at 29 Bedford Row (London). Door Tenant at St. Ives (Birmingham). IFLA arbitrator and PFDR/ENE tribunal. Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2018, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2021, and a Recorder of the Family Court in 2016. Bencher of the Middle Temple.