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Five-way meeting meaning

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert
What does Five-way meeting mean?
A five-way meeting in collaborative family law is a settlement meeting attended by the two clients, their collaboratively trained solicitors (the “four‑way”), and a fifth neutral professional. It is a descriptive term, not defined in legislation or case law, and its use is broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. The fifth attendee is commonly a neutral financial adviser (for example, a pensions expert, actuary or accountant) or a family consultant/coach (sometimes a child specialist), ideally also collaboratively trained. Their role is to provide joint, impartial input to support full financial disclosure, option‑generation and reality‑testing, improve communication, and keep discussions child‑focused. Five‑way meetings usually occur under a collaborative participation agreement and on a without prejudice basis. The neutral is typically jointly instructed, owes duties of neutrality and confidentiality to both clients, and does not advise either party separately. They are used to progress resolution of financial and parenting issues without court, with outcomes documented as heads of agreement for conversion into a consent order (England & Wales/Northern Ireland), a minute of agreement (Scotland), or terms for a separation agreement or court order (Ireland). Contrast with a four‑way meeting, which involves only the parties and their lawyers.
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CHECKLISTS
MVL of a Solvent Company: Board Meeting, Solvency Declaration, Members’ Resolutions, Liquidator Appointment, Notices and Filings—Checklist and Timeline (England and Wales)

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CHECKLISTS
Practitioners’ guide to Schedule 1 Children Act 1989 applications (England and Wales): jurisdiction, MIAMs, forms, standard and fast-track, FDR, orders, duration and variation

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CHECKLISTS
Statutory contents checklist for occupational pension scheme annual reports and accounts (Disclosure of Information Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734)

This checklist sets out the requirements for the content of schemes’ annual reports and accounts under the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734. For fuller guidance on the duty on occupational pension schemes to produce annual reports and accounts, see Practice Note: Pension scheme annual reports and accounts. Requirement to prepare and disclose a pension scheme annual report Trustees of an occupational pension scheme meeting the conditions in the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734, Sch 1, Para 1 must produce an annual report no later than seven months following the close of each scheme year. For further details, see: Disclosure requirements for occupational and personal pension schemes—the 2013 disclosure regulations—Scope of the 2013 Disclosure Regulations. The annual report must be provided to any relevant person (that is, a member, prospective member, their spouse or civil partner, a beneficiary or a recognised trade union) who: requests the document within five years...

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NEWS
ESG issues arising from the UK’s AMR Action Plan 2024–2029: subscription model, environmental manufacturing standards, equitable access, health inequalities, and MHRA support for innovation

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NEWS
Civil Procedure Rule Committee: October 2024 decisions—Part 25 overhaul, OIC whiplash PAP/PD changes, small claims paper determination pilot extension, and Costs Budgeting Light pilots (England and Wales)

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NEWS
UK CMA adopts new Phase 2 merger process; publishes updated merger guidance and forms; revises de minimis (now £30m); UK–EU competition co-operation talks launched (25 April 2024)

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PRACTICE NOTES
Voluntary winding-up in England and Wales: resolutions, MVL/CVL conversion, creditor decision procedures, statements of affairs, liquidator appointment, statutory notices, and vacancy/release

The resolution to wind-up A company can move into voluntary liquidation only if one of the following applies: its fixed duration has ended, or an event specified in its articles as triggering liquidation has occurred, and the company has approved an ordinary resolution to wind up; or it passes a special resolution to be wound up voluntarily. See: 97 Notice of meeting to pass ordinary or special resolution to wind up: Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents [1441] 103 Special resolution to wind up and appoint liquidator: Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents [1452] The former practice of proceeding by extraordinary resolution is no longer available under the Companies Act 2006. Where the directors make a declaration of solvency under section 89 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), the company may proceed by way of a members’ voluntary liquidation (MVL). For further information, see Practice Note: What is a members’ voluntary liquidation and when is...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Creditors’ decision-making in bankruptcy under the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016: procedures, deemed consent, notices, voting and SIP 6

The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024 introduced an updated framework for decision-making across all insolvency procedures from 6 April 2017. The detailed rules governing decision-making are contained in IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, Pt 15. The prescribed decision procedures There are five decision procedures through which a trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) may obtain a decision from a bankrupt’s creditors under section 379ZA of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), namely: correspondence electronic voting virtual meeting physical meeting any other decision-making procedure which enables equal participation by all creditors Seeking a decision without a meeting Correspondence If a decision is sought by correspondence, creditors will only be able to accept or reject the proposal. Electronic voting This mirrors correspondence in that creditors will only be able to accept or reject the proposed decision. Where electronic voting is to be used: the notice delivered to creditors must include any...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Coaching-led management for legal team leaders: growth mindset, goal-setting, everyday coaching, boundaries, troubleshooting and top tips

Although structured coaching sessions away from the workstation are highly worthwhile for all involved, managers can also weave coaching into everyday tasks. Nurturing a coaching mindset and meeting each scenario with a coach’s perspective can swiftly elevate skills across the team. In this Practice Note, we explore: how to cultivate a coaching approach to management the ‘Growth Mindset’—what it means and how to foster it goal-setting—from five-minute to five-year plans integrating coaching into your day establishing coaching boundaries what to do when coaching goes off track five essential tips for coaching For more on coaching, see Practice Notes: An introduction to coaching, Coaching for coachees, and Popular coaching models and methodologies. How to develop a coaching approach to management For managers or supervisors, leading with a coaching lens can transform how you guide your team...

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PRECEDENTS
Precedent: in-house legal team brand workshop—PowerPoint template and facilitation notes to define value, prioritise actions and raise your profile across the business

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PRECEDENTS
Escode Escrow as a Service Scale Agreement (Multi-Customer Deposit Account) for SaaS: Cloud software escrow to restore customer accounts and replicate environments

Software escrow Escrow is the arrangement by which two or more parties lodge property or instruments with a dependable third party (an ‘escrow agent’). The escrowed materials are passed to one party once a pre-agreed release condition or trigger occurs, such as that party meeting its obligations or another party failing to meet theirs. Software escrow is a widely used way to protect both software licensors and licensees. Licensors are often unwilling to part with source code and commercially sensitive details about the design of their software. Yet a licensee may feel exposed to the risk of being unable to maintain or support the software if, for example, the licensor becomes insolvent or defaults on its obligations. Depositing those materials with an independent third party in...

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PRECEDENTS
Procurement Director meeting agenda and plan: assessing legal services outsourcing, external advisers, contracts, spend, quality and risk

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Q&As
Section 106 contribution repayment after 5 years: no commencement

LPA’s obligations when imposing financial contributions Developers are frequently obliged to make monetary payments to the local planning authority (LPA) to fund defined projects, helping to offset the harmful effects of a scheme and thereby enable the grant of planning permission. This Q&A addresses circumstances where the section 106 agreement contains no specific express clawback mechanism. When a planning obligation (a section 106 obligation) is proposed to secure a financial contribution at the determination stage of a planning application, that contribution must satisfy the stringent legal tests in regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948 (SI 2010/948, reg 122) (as amended). Only by meeting those tests can any such payment lawfully and ultimately underpin the grant of planning permission...

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Q&As
Non‑part‑year term-time workers: holiday accrual and termination

Worker categories For leave years commencing before 1 April 2024 there was only one worker category for holiday entitlement and pay purposes, which we describe as ‘regular’ workers. For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, a new way of working out holiday entitlement and pay was introduced, but it applies only to individuals who fall within the newly established ‘part-year’ or ‘irregular hours’ categories. For anyone who does not sit within those categories, the previous method of calculating holiday entitlement and pay continues to apply. For fuller detail on what counts as a part-year worker under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833, regs 2(1) and 15F(1)(b), refer to the ‘Part-year worker’ section of Practice Note: Statutory paid holiday—irregular hours workers and part-year workers. See also the government guidance: Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024. In light of the question asked, the text below proceeds on the basis that the worker is within the ‘regular’ worker category rather than meeting the...

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