Knowledge & resources

Nicki Norman, Acting co-chief executive of Women’s Aid, reports for The Review on how Women’s Aid has been campaigning for safety first policies and measures in the family courts.

The FPRC want views from practitioners on whether Calderbank offers should be admissible in considering conduct for the purposes of r28.3 FPR. The deadline for responding is 31 October 2019. So what are the pros and cons?

As with most things in life, there are positives and negatives of McKenzie Friends, as personal experience and the case law show.

Whilst studying at law school, I volunteered for the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) as a McKenzie Friend, assisting victims of domestic abuse in obtaining non-molestation and occupation orders in the courts. This gave me a personal insight into how the work of McKenzie Friends can be invaluable.

Feedback on the Judicial Executive Board’s consultation on McKenzie Friends shows there is still a broad range of views on the current position and possible changes. So what are the ground rules?

Are you ready for the new SRA standards, regulations and guidance? They provide more flexibility than before, but that doesn’t mean they are less onerous.

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.