There have been a number of family judges speaking out recently at the amounts spent by parties on legal fees within their divorce, usually, but not always, arguing about their finances. In this case, the blistering criticism extends to the flagrant disregard by the couples' advisers for the procedural elements of presenting their case. 

As lawyers we will have to be ever more careful to comply with these requirements. I suspect that naming and shaming of those firms who consistently flout the new rules may follow - carrying on business as usual with thousands of documents in multiple-volume court bundles and over lengthy statements will not be tolerated. One firm recently was criticised for wrongly using a smaller font size so as to comply with the page limit on their client's witness statement, buying them an extra few pages which they should not have had. The judge spotted it and was highly critical.  

Big money divorces take on a momentum of their own - like a snowball rolling downhill, increasing in size at every turn. And yet it isn't just the super rich who spend significant sums. Most families won't spend £8m on their divorce but for this couple that is probably less than 3% of their reported combined wealth. Many less well-off families will spend proportionately more than that arguing about more meagre assets. The numbers are smaller but the impact can be much greater. 

We can all agree that limiting legal fees is good for our clients but though an easy and popular headline, it's not always the fault of the lawyers. We must also consider the emotional nature of this type of litigation. We may now be in the era of no fault divorce but for those in litigation, their approach is often fueled by broader background issues, often related to the reasons for the marriage breakdown and coupled with a mistrust of their spouse. As lawyers, all we can do is advise objectively and aim to keep legal fees in proportion to the issues in dispute. That is often a lot harder than it sounds, particular for those with complex, multi-national finances.