Knowledge & resources

Lady Hale’s speech on “What is a 21st century family” is a must read for any family practitioner. It provides a thorough summary of how the law has treated the concept of a “family” over the past 50 years and, by doing so, points forward to how it may develop. In this article for The Review Bethan Carr breaks down Lady Hale's speech.

This response has been prepared by members of Resolution’s Children and Legal Aid Committees made up of local authority lawyers, lawyers acting for parents and those acting for children on a day to day basis. 

In this article on collaborative practice for The Review Brian Cantwell and Mary Shaw talk about how working together with families can lighten the load – for everyone

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 has now come into force.

All mediators must be aware of the requirements of the new legislation as it sets out requirements for all traders and service providers. It covers all aspects of consumer rights and the responsibilities of traders and service providers. This includes, for example, unfair terms and cancellation fees. Mediators must comply with the legislation as it applies to all traders and service providers who charge a fee for their services.

The purpose of this document is to highlight the key Mediation claiming issues that continue to be identified by the LAA. By being aware of these issues a more focused approach can be adopted, so that Providers are more able to submit accurate claims. It should also be noted that these areas will be specifically scrutinised by the LAA during any future visits or audits.

A review of the Child Arrangements Programme PD 12B: Report to the President of the Family Division by the Private Law Working Group

This toolkit is designed to help family solicitors and mediators who are not domestic abuse experts, to identify situations where clients may be suffering domestic abuse and/or violence.

This video was recorded in June 2019 and is presented by Robyn Bradey (expert social worker based in Sydney, Australia).

Stress is on the rise in law firms, and junior lawyers are particularly vulnerable. But there are many anti-stress techniques and plenty of sources of help – Sarah Green of TLT LLP looks at some of the options, including YRes.

In this podcast, Tom Farrell and Mike Caffyn discuss what makes family law a distinctive and compelling area to work in for financial advisers, and how getting Resolution's specialist accreditation can help develop your career.

In reality all family law clients should be considered as vulnerable, they are usually in a state of heightened emotion when they first meet with their lawyer, and we are usually asking them to explain very personal and upsetting matters with someone they have not met before. There are of course very different degrees of vulnerability and how best to support and assist our clients can be an area of concern and confusion, particularly to less experienced practitioners. This guide is designed to set out some best practice guidance on working together with vulnerable clients.

Family proceedings (whether court-based, collaborative or otherwise) should be conducted cost effectively without compromising the quality of advice that clients crave and deserve, balancing the benefits of any steps taken against the likely costs – financial or emotional. Many family cases are now concluded without the involvement of barristers. However, certain clients will benefit from representation by an effective team of lawyer and barrister in order to achieve an appropriate balance between cost and quality. This guidance note offers advice on best practice for solicitors/legal executives when working with a barrister.

This practice guide provides an overview of working within the Code of Practice when faced with the complex and sensitive matters associated with domestic abuse cases.

What follows is a selection of comments made to practitioners and potential responses. These are not 'scripts' but ideas as it is also important that you say things in a way that is authentic to your speech and therefore for anyone you are speaking to.

Resolution members are all committed to working in a conciliatory way and adhering to the Code of Practice. This means that you should ensure that even when you are faced with a complaint (and possibly a very angry person), that your commitment does not vary from your normal professional approach.

This is the landing page for all resources for our mediator members. Here you can download all of your mediation documents.

On 6 April 2016, radical changes are to be made to the state pension of which practitioners must be aware.

The current state pension scheme (“the current scheme”) applies to those already claiming their state pension and those who will reach state pension age prior to 6 April 2016.

The Pensions Act 2014 introduces a new state pension scheme (“the new scheme”) for those who will reach state pension age on or after 6 April 2016 (ie men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953).

The widely publicised pension freedoms were introduced on 6 April 2015 and brought with them a number of unexpected, and almost certainly unintended, consequences for family lawyers and their clients. One of the most concerning consequences is the effect of the freedoms on existing Pension Attachment Orders. This briefing addresses that specific issue.

Since 25 November 2013, the Child Support Agency (CSA) will no longer accept new child support cases. All new applications are now dealt with under the new scheme, with new rules, by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

This note aims to provide some guidance about safeguarding children and young people for Resolution's members, their Compliance Officers for Legal Practice (COLPs), and others responsible for risk and compliance.