good practice

Good Practice Guide to Working with Litigants in Person

With the reforms to family justice, cutbacks on legal aid and changes in behaviour in relation to the ways in which people approach family relationship breakdown, there has been a significant increase in the number of litigants in person and you should consider how your dealings with litigants in person will differ from those with another lawyer.

Guidance Note: Cohabitation cases

Non-married cohabiting relationships continue to increase year on year, so advising clients embarking on cohabitation, those already living together wanting to understand their ‘rights’ and those whose cohabiting relationship has broken down, will continue to form an increasing part of the workload of family lawyers. This guide aims to assist Resolution members and their conveyancing lawyer and private client colleagues to manage these cases effectively, in accordance with our Code of Practice.

Good Practice Guide to Communication

The introduction, development and evolution of new methods of resolving family disputes for changing families means there is a need for us all to look at how we communicate as members of Resolution; with our clients, with other members, with our clients’ former partners if they are not represented by a lawyer, with other members of our clients’ families, with other non-member lawyers, barristers, judges, mediators and arbitrators and more widely within the family justice system. Poor communication accounts for the largest number of complaints received by Resolution.