Dictionary of Financial Remedies (2023 edition)

For this reviewer, the Dictionary of Financial Remedies has become the go-to book as a quick reference guide. Its crisp, clear and concise presentation ensures that it invariably provides the answer to the question being raised.  Although the text is relatively concise, and therefore useful as a reference book when in a hurry, the footnotes and citations are extensive.  

It is in A4 format and runs to only 138 pages. In many respects it is similar to its sister publication, At A Glance. It is certainly just as indispensable.

The 2023 edition has been extended to include three new entries, namely adjournment of capital claims, debts and loans, and domestic abuse. Taking just one of those as an example, in the new section on debts and loans, there is helpful guidance on the treatment of soft debts, legal costs debts and litigation loans. Those three subjects are arguably the key areas of dispute on the subject of liabilities.  

Each section appears in alphabetical order (it is a dictionary, after all), and although it is potentially not always straightforward to identify in which section a particular topic appears, there are extensive cross-references within the book.

By way of example, the financial remedies court, efficien tconduct, first appointments and FDRs all appear in separate sections, although of course they overlap.  

The book does achieve an excellent balance in providing a pithy summary of key areas, while also being comprehensive for a short book. It is a hard balance to strike, yet the Dictionary certainly manages to achieve it.

This is not a text book, nor is it intended to be. It is a practical reference book for a busy practitioner, who will usually be in a hurry to find the answer they seek.

Finally, I would certainly award an extra star to the introduction written by Mr Justice Mostyn. Don’t skip it, it is worth reading. There aren’t many belly laughs in family law books.

Andrew Newbury is a partner at Hall Brown Family Law, Manchester