ATTORNEYS' BELIEFS AND OPINIONS ABOUT CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

We surveyed a national sample of family law attorneys (N = 192) regarding their beliefs and opinions about child custody evaluations, particularly those performed by independent/private practitioners. Findings revealed participants' strongly preferred court‐ordered evaluations performed by doctoral‐level psychologists who assumed a neutral position. The participants expressed concern regarding procedures used by evaluators, the application of evaluation data to the Best Interests of the Child Standard, and certain report components. A clear majority supported evaluators making recommendations about custody and parenting time, but their satisfaction with these evaluations varied widely. Specific concerns and suggestions noted by the participants are highlighted; we conclude with recommendations.     

DEFINING PARENTING COORDINATION WITH STATE LAWS

Parenting coordination is a new trend in defining ADR interventions to help reduce parenting conflicts between court‐involved parents. This writing identifies core elements of parenting coordination as defined by various current state statutes and the AFCC Guidelines for Parenting Coordination. Exploration of the formalization of parenting coordination provides heuristic reading for those initiating statutory regulations in other states as well as the possibility for development of a uniform law.     

Interdisciplinary Practice in Family Court: A Judicial Perspective

This commentary emphasizes the windows of judicial opportunity to proactively manage family law cases, to empower families, and to encourage interdisciplinary conferencing and settlement.     

Banking in the cloud: Part 3 – contractual issues

This paper looks at EU banks' use of public cloud computing services. It is based primarily on anonymised interviews with banks, cloud providers, advisers, and financial services regulators. The findings are presented in three parts. Part 1 of this paper explored the extent to which banks operating in the EU, including global banks, use public cloud computing services. Part 2 of this paper covered the main legal and regulatory issues that may affect banks' use of cloud services.Part 3 looks at the key contractual issues that arise in negotiations between banks and cloud service providers, including data protection requirements, complexities caused by the layering of cloud services, termination, service changes, and liability. It also presents the overall conclusion derived from the studies conducted, as set out in the three parts of the paper.All three parts of the paper can be accessed via Computer Law and Security Review's page on ScienceDirect at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02673649?sdc=2. The full list of sources is available via the same link and will be printed at the end of this part of the article.     

‘C’ is for commercial collaboration: enterprise and structure in the ‘middle market’ of counterfeit alcohol distribution

This article utilising the work of Pearson and Hobbs [1] defines the middle market in counterfeit alcohol. Drugs markets have a resemblance to counterfeit alcohol markets in as much that they share the illicit nature of the product and the need to distribute the product at the ‘street’ level. Drawing on two case studies taken from a European regulator the article details the dynamics of the market, the enterprise actions of the actors and how law enforcement responses can, in certain circumstances, make the task of the distributors easier. The traditional notions of organised crime are challenged and organisation of counterfeit alcohol markets is viewed as being reliant upon those who have legitimate access to the market and are able to develop networks of commercial collaborators who by their position in the legitimate market are able to conceal their illicit actions.     

How the High Court Considers Policy

The Australian High Court has a long-standing policy role. In the past this has been disguised by the cloak of literalism. Recently, the court has been more transparent about a policy function, outlining the considerations shaping its policy framework. There is, however, scope for further reform in broadening the range of materials which influence judical decisions.