Litigants in Person v Counsel

Our latest Professional Update from the Bar Standards Board tells us that there has been “an unprecedented increase in complaints from Litigants in Person”. The figures are not astronomical at 35 in the year to date, but apparently this is more than the total number of complaints received in 2009 and 2010 combined. The author [...]

We don’t need no Ed-ew-ca-shun

Earlier this week I spent a day on a Court of Protection course. Just as we were all entering a post lunch semi-vegative state, up strode Wall LJ to the podium. He is both President of the Family Division and of the Court of Protection. Readers of this blog may find his brief address interesting. [...]

Open letter to CAFCASS

“An open letter in respect of my resignation from Cafcass 26 September 2011 Dear  …………………, I have long had my doubts as to whether Cafcass as an organisation is fit for purpose.  I have been critical of the honesty and integrity of the management of the service, things that continue to concern me.  I have [...]

Shock, Awe and Disgust

I have recently been following a twitter account called @YourKidsNeedYou. As a result, popping up in my twitter stream from this account have been such gems as: and: The url ez.com/stopcheaters redirects to a US website friendsofcourt.com, to be specific to a page selling an “Attention Cheaters!” toolkit “for only $150!”. It contains a sample [...]

Presidential Lapse

The President’s Interim Guidance in respect of CAFCASS will be allowed to lapse on it’s expiry on 30 September. Many will recall that the “interim” guidance, designed to deal with the crisis faced by CAFCASS at a time of escalating demand for services, was rather less temporary than had initially been envisaged. The Guidance is [...]

Success is all in my mind

Bit busy at the moment. But here’s a few things to keep you occupied: Slightly belated news that the Justice Select Committee has published it’s report on the Operation of the Family Courts. Scroll down to paragraph 239 and you will find a quote from Lucy Reed, author of Family Courts without a Lawyer – [...]

Summary of Legal Aid Reforms to Family Law

Nearly Legal has provided an excellent summary of the legal aid reforms in respect of housing and other areas of law: Ask not for whom the bill tolls. Due to other commitments I have not been able to put together a full analysis of the Bill insofar as is relates to family law. That will [...]

Family Courts without a Lawyer – A Handbook for Litigants In Person

  The Interim Report of the ongoing Family Justice Review notes that, “Adults find the system confusing and characterised by legalese whether they are involved in public or private law…In private law, it is difficult for adults to navigate the system on their own. Two anonymous respondents to the call for evidence highlight this. For one, “it [...]

Oh Hemming!

It is the most de rigeur of popular expletives. What the Hemming has he been up to now? Need I waste my tippy tappy fingertips on typing an explanation? Thought not. So, I will just point out this excellent post of Carl Gardner’s on Head of Legal, and juxtapose it with a tweet from Fathers4Justice [...]

So – Superinjunct me!

The hype about hyperinjunctions is just extraordinary at the moment. There is a vast amount of blogging and commentary on the topic, but I’d like to focus on the issue as it relates to family law. I’m specifically not going to comment on Baroness Deech’s suggestion that women are to blame for the rise of [...]