1: Tardy family lawyers could be forced to pay costs | August 22, 2018

Family lawyers could be hit with personal costs orders if they fail to help resolve disputes as “quickly, inexpensively and efficiently” as possible and if their fees become disproportionate to the issues in dispute, under laws to be introduced to parliament today…




2: Judge critical of barristers’ audacious ‘cancellation’ fees | June 11, 2018

A family court judge has taken a swipe at barristers who charge cancellation fees after a case in which the mother clocked up almost $1 million in legal costs…




3: Family Court judge blasts lawyers over outrageous fees | December 13, 2017

A Family Court judge has delivered a blistering judgment on the “culture of bitter, adversarial and highly aggressive family law litigation” in Sydney and blasted two law firms for charging “outrageous” fees…




4: Incompetent Family Law Lawyer Ordered to Repay Client | September 3, 2015

A West Australian couple with $1.8 million in assets racked up more than $1.1m in lawyers’ fees during a bitter separation, after which a Supreme Court ruled the husband’s lawyer had lost objectivity and overcharged him, including for up to 24.8 hours of work in a single day…




5: Divorce filing fees set for Significant Rise | June 20, 2015

Federal court-filing fees are set to rise on 1 July with increases expected to raise more than $87 million…




6: The Struggle for Self Represented Divorcees | February 10, 2015

Self representation in a divorce case is fraught with unexpected challenges. Often, the best strategy is to avoid court altogether. ..




7: Fixed-Price Divorce Fees as Law Firms Compete for Business | November 6, 2014

There are some legal firms today that are offering what is now commonly called a fixed-price divorce…




8: Family Court children ‘compromised’ as parents represent themselves | March 17, 2014

Victoria Legal Aid says it will review cuts to its family services – which the Family Court’s Chief Justice has criticised as compromising children’s best interests – later this year…




9: Is a self represented litigant entitled to recover costs? | November 22, 2013

If you successfully represent yourself, the costs you can recover from the other party are strictly limited…




10: IVF parents lose $10m wrongful birth case, hit with legal costs | May 6, 2013

The parents of a severely disabled NSW boy have lost their $10 million damages case against an IVF specialist who failed to properly warn them of the likelihood their son would inherit a rare blood clotting condition…