The Law Society has published guidance for solicitors on dealing with litigants-in-person.
This, on the whole, is a welcome step forward. We experience and too often hear of three areas where solicitors’ and barristers’ conduct is unacceptable: Continue reading Law Society Guidance on dealing with Litigants-in-Person and Malpractice
Women face inequality in many areas of society. So do ethnic minorities, those with disabilities and many others; but what about men? Can they be disadvantaged?
The Welsh Government is revising the Equalities strategy and has invited the charity Families Need Fathers BPM Cymru to run focus groups with men to contribute to this initiative. Continue reading Wales Events – Government led Focus Group on Men’s Equalities
In yesterday’s article we shared how the growth in non-molestation order applications in the Midlands appears quite staggering. Today we’re sharing top level statistics for the national picture and North West in particular. There’s also something very odd related to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics for Family Proceedings Courts. Continue reading Non Molestation Orders – The National Picture, North West Anomaly and FPCs
In 2013 the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishments of Offenders Act (LAPSO), came into force. One area of law affected was private family work, with legal aid being cut with the exception of cases where domestic violence was alleged. There were concerns that this might prompt a rise in false allegations as a means to secure free legal representation. So has there been a stark increase in applications for non-molestation orders?
Last week, we received a copy of data from a Freedom of Information Act request to the Ministry of Justice on Civil Legal Aid and Applications for Non-Molestation Orders and have finally had a chance to ‘crunch’ the numbers.
There’s something odd about the Midlands Continue reading Non-Molestation Orders and Legal Aid – Time for Investigation
It’s sadly too common to see people posting information about their cases online. Why is it sad? It carries an unnecessary risk, can damage their chances in court, and can later cause them considerable problems. There are other reasons but if these don’t hit home, others are probably unlikely to be heeded. Continue reading Social Media: How to wreck your case
On Monday, I read John Bolch’s blog, where he disagrees with views that the family courts are biased against fathers. I’m going to be somewhat more cautious than John, and continue the exercise delving into why the perception of bias exists, whether there is justification for that belief, and whether other factors are involved which lead people to believe they’ve been treated unfairly. Continue reading Gender bias. Should it be a worry for those in court today?
This morning I recorded an interview with the BBC World Service on ‘virtual’ or internet based contact. A parent who had spoken earlier in the programme had given examples of how his ex-partner frustrates Skype contact. It is not uncommon. It is however possible to gather evidence of the problems experienced if you intend heading to court for enforcement. The interview wasn’t long enough to raise the following suggestions in relation to gathering evidence, so I have included this here. I’ll post links to the World Service interview when I have the airing date confirmed. Continue reading Frustrated Skype/Facetime Contact – Gathering Evidence
Just to make you aware that links are now up to enable you to watch cases being heard in the Supreme Court.
Current cases can be viewed via links on the UK Supreme Court’s Current Cases Page.
Past cases can be viewed via links on the UK Supreme Court’s Decided Cases Page.
Supply your own popcorn.
If you didn’t catch my interview on the BBC World Service this week on Skype contact, you can hear it on our Youtube Channel (or via the video below). The father interviewed, ‘Peter’, explains the problems extremely well. Was moving the child 400 miles away from this man in the child’s best interests? Hearing him, I struggle to see how it was. Continue reading BBC World Service – Is Virtual Parenting Time a Substitute for Physical Contact
The case was heard in the Chelmsford Family Court. The Guardian supported an order for shared living arrangements and the mother had interfered with the interim contact arrangements leading to the father making a further application for a reversal of residence. Continue reading Added to our case law libraries – W (Children) [2014] EWFC B215
