The Austin Lafferty Solicitors & Estate Agents Blog

The subject of child maintenance arrangements and the Child Support Agency has recently come back under the spotlight.

Children are being moved too many times between foster families because of the need for more foster carers across the UK, the Fostering Network has warned.

Austin and his colleague at GSPC, Mark Hordern, have co-written a guide to running an succesful estate agency practice. Drawing on their collective experience, the manual provides a practical guide to operating a successful estate agency business within a law firm.

In the Herald's inaugural 'Agenda' feature, Austin emphasises the importance of planning your future ahead of time to spare stress and cost in years to come.

The Marriage Foundation think-tank has produced a report revealing that second marriages are more stable than first marriages, challenging the widely held belief that couples who remarry are doomed to repeat the mistakes from their first marriage.

Once again, a prominent member member of the Scottish legal community are asked to comment on matters relating to our national game, only this time with levity, rather than litigation, in mind. Austin joins Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove on 'Off the Ball'.

Having concluded his visit to South Africa, Austin reflects on his trip in an article in the Scotsman.

Austin's world tour of South Africa closes with a crescendo as he encounters an out-of-place doorman, hears of the horrors perpetrated by mining companies in South Africa, listens to an impassioned speech by Lord Judge, extols the virtues of the Dear Green Place and visits the site of Nelson Mandela's incarceration on Robben Island. Read the full blog here.

A packed and interesting schedule for Austin as the conference hears of the experience of lawyers who operate outside the Rule of Law. Lawyers from Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka relate their experiences at the hands of their countries ruling regimes. Discussions on free speech, defamation, childcare for lawyers and even a moot are enjoyed before dinner where, hopefully, gammy Penguin isn't on the menu... You can read the full blog here.

On day six of his trip, Austin finds that the ethnic and gender balance of judges in South Africa has improved greatly over the last two decades as the previously white male-dominated judiciary has reconfigured enormously. Austin also finds out about the challenges posed by legal aid budgets across the Commonwealth and developing world and he is reminded of one of the great legal scenes from movie history! Read the full blog here.

Austin schools young lawyers on media presentation and is confronted with the reality of the life of lawyers in Africa. Racial, ethnic, political, religious and cultural forces pull in different directions leading to inequality, oppression and breaches of human rights. The burden of righting these wrongs, Austin finds, falls squarely on the shoulders of his Commonwealth colleagues. Read the full blog here.

Austin finds himself upgraded to the title of 'Professor' as he attends the conference and finds that there is more than a hint of Scottish culture infused with life in this part of the world. After dinner, the trip gets off and running properly as speeches are delivered by prominent legal figures from the UK and around the Commonwealth. Read the full blog here.

Still in Cape Town, Austin ponders a personal injury claim against the operators of the Victoria & Albert waterfront after a trip but elects instead to hobble around the relics of South Africa's grisly colonial past. Read the full blog here

Austin finds himself volunteered for numerous tasks and finds out just how big a task the Malawi Law Society faces - with their staff of four, the Malawi Law Society must serve a population of 15 and a half million across a country which covers an area the size of England! Read the full blog here.

Austin's visit to Malawi get off to an inauspicious start as flight delays and lost baggage force a change of itinerary. Undaunted, Austin vows to help the Malawi Law Society forge ahead with their plans. Read the full blog here

We have recently published a new guide to the main legal considerations for every business owner in Scotland.

The UK Government has announced funding of £6.5 million to help separated or divorced parents work together for the sake of their children.

Discussions on the consequences of divorce often focus on emotional and financial outcomes, which undoubtedly can be very significant for the couple involved. However, the life changing consequences of a divorce are not simply restricted to the emotional and financial spheres, and it’s not only the couple going through the divorce who will feel the pain of separation.

A recent study from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business has explored what effect there is on a marriage when the wife earns more than her husband.

There has been much thought and angst in the press recently about the changes in family structure that have taken place in the UK over recent years. Many, such as the rise in the number of single parents or the growth in cohabitation, are seen by some as being bad for society - and for children.