Last week I went to Rochester Grammar School as part of their careers programme to talk about Family Law as a career but to make it more interesting I called the talk "how to make a profitable career as a Footballer's wife" and put family law in that context.
It was good fun but the School got really sniffy when I asked whether I could send out a Press Release entitled "grammar girls get careers advice to be footballers' wives" as it was "inappropriate" for the ethos of the school.
I do quite a lot of careers work with schools and it's a real eye-opener as Kent still have selective Grammar schools. It is immediately obvious to me in the various classes I have spoken to that the brightest in the mixed ability schools are held back substantially by the disaffected majority but I'm getting used to using the Sun newspaper as my textbook to get them to see the impact of law in their lives on a day to day basis and it does seem to work!
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Monday 19 April 2010
Dads and contact
I was really saddened to see the suggestion in the TV listings last week that one in three dads loses contact with their children within three years of separation (if that is true).
Sitting as a Deputy District Judge in the Principal Registry, I see how this happens and to be fair it's not ALWAYS as a result of obstruction on the part of the mother--a surprising number of dads just disappear for a year or more after separation and then come back on the scene asking for contact with children who are all too aware of Dad's desertion.
For many dads however it is now the court system and its delays which conspires against them so that a father issuing an application now in the Local Family Proceedings Court may have to wait 8 weeks or more for a first court date.
My advice to any dad where contact is being obstructed is to get into court quickly ie make a court application as soon as it looks as if the mother is going to put totally unreasonable obstacles in the way. You can always withdraw the application if there is a change of attitude.
All dads must be reassured that all the district Judges I know will do everything possible to make the contact work.
My firm have now started to offer low cost "dip in, dip out" advice in children cases because we are so concerned that parents are not getting contact because legal advice is not accessible and often a one-off interview reassures a parent that there are steps they can take and that their children will not be lost to them if they are tenacious.
Sitting as a Deputy District Judge in the Principal Registry, I see how this happens and to be fair it's not ALWAYS as a result of obstruction on the part of the mother--a surprising number of dads just disappear for a year or more after separation and then come back on the scene asking for contact with children who are all too aware of Dad's desertion.
For many dads however it is now the court system and its delays which conspires against them so that a father issuing an application now in the Local Family Proceedings Court may have to wait 8 weeks or more for a first court date.
My advice to any dad where contact is being obstructed is to get into court quickly ie make a court application as soon as it looks as if the mother is going to put totally unreasonable obstacles in the way. You can always withdraw the application if there is a change of attitude.
All dads must be reassured that all the district Judges I know will do everything possible to make the contact work.
My firm have now started to offer low cost "dip in, dip out" advice in children cases because we are so concerned that parents are not getting contact because legal advice is not accessible and often a one-off interview reassures a parent that there are steps they can take and that their children will not be lost to them if they are tenacious.
Tuesday 16 March 2010
sharing your children-a deputy's perspective.
Yesterday was another diverse day sitting at the Principal Registry where I dealt with five cases which couldn't have been more different but all about contact with children for separated parents.
The most worrying was about a seven year old who "refused" to see dad though there was no objective evidence to show that this was based on anything other than messages received from her mother.
The Court had made a Family Assistance Order to involve Cafcass in reintroducing contact but Cafcass in their wisdom has allocated the case to a (presumably unqualified)"family support worker" who invited the mother to bring the child into her office but when the mother refused effectively abandoned the FAO and wrote to the Court asking for further Dircetions!
Cases like this need a firm grip by a skilled practitioner and this is one of the many areas where children are now totally failed by Cafcass, whilst Anthony Douglas continues his constant spinning of figures and news.
A second involved a child with extensive special needs where the parents were trying to get to grips with providing a consistent routine and diet in both homes but after a three way negotiating process we put together a communication package that has a good chance of working. That however took well over an hour which fortuitously I had available because another case had collapsed but most days at the PRFD it would be rare to find the extended timeslot that case needed.
It is impossible to understate the role that parents' representatives play in these scenarios. Early realistic child-focused advice can make or break the course that the long term arrangements between all family members can take and it has certainly been my experience that membership of Resolution (the old Solicitors' Family Law Association--a much better title!) is a good indicator of such an advisor.
The most worrying was about a seven year old who "refused" to see dad though there was no objective evidence to show that this was based on anything other than messages received from her mother.
The Court had made a Family Assistance Order to involve Cafcass in reintroducing contact but Cafcass in their wisdom has allocated the case to a (presumably unqualified)"family support worker" who invited the mother to bring the child into her office but when the mother refused effectively abandoned the FAO and wrote to the Court asking for further Dircetions!
Cases like this need a firm grip by a skilled practitioner and this is one of the many areas where children are now totally failed by Cafcass, whilst Anthony Douglas continues his constant spinning of figures and news.
A second involved a child with extensive special needs where the parents were trying to get to grips with providing a consistent routine and diet in both homes but after a three way negotiating process we put together a communication package that has a good chance of working. That however took well over an hour which fortuitously I had available because another case had collapsed but most days at the PRFD it would be rare to find the extended timeslot that case needed.
It is impossible to understate the role that parents' representatives play in these scenarios. Early realistic child-focused advice can make or break the course that the long term arrangements between all family members can take and it has certainly been my experience that membership of Resolution (the old Solicitors' Family Law Association--a much better title!) is a good indicator of such an advisor.
Sunday 14 March 2010
porn producer may lead Gravesend!
So it's in the Sundays today that our prospective Lib Dem candidate is a former producer of porn films and the Sunday Times suggests that may not make her an appropriate MP.
I beg to differ---producing porn films is in my opinion very similar to representing Gravesend. It requires skills such as working with a very diverse audience with a wide range of different interests and backgrounds, understanding the needs of minorities in the community, recognising opportunities for presenting the same basic scenario in imaginative ways, and being responsive to "the man in the street" or down the alley!
I beg to differ---producing porn films is in my opinion very similar to representing Gravesend. It requires skills such as working with a very diverse audience with a wide range of different interests and backgrounds, understanding the needs of minorities in the community, recognising opportunities for presenting the same basic scenario in imaginative ways, and being responsive to "the man in the street" or down the alley!
Monday 1 March 2010
a busy month!
February has been a great month for us, updating our website so that it is now informative and gives clients a good picture of us--it's a bit quirky but that probably reflects the firm well!
Our Children Handbook has been launched and we're all really proud of that and we're giving it out to as many clients as possible. If even one child has a better experience as a result of our advice, it will have been worth it.
The client library is up and running so clients can borrow books from us, not only on divorce and separation but some really good books for adults and children on bereavement and I hope that will prove a well-used facility.
Our new children law service is also running, to offer an affordable "dip in and out" option which can work well in Children matters.
I feel that we're now properly responding to the new needs that clients have and hope that word gets round quickly that we really are "a different sort of law firm"!
Our Children Handbook has been launched and we're all really proud of that and we're giving it out to as many clients as possible. If even one child has a better experience as a result of our advice, it will have been worth it.
The client library is up and running so clients can borrow books from us, not only on divorce and separation but some really good books for adults and children on bereavement and I hope that will prove a well-used facility.
Our new children law service is also running, to offer an affordable "dip in and out" option which can work well in Children matters.
I feel that we're now properly responding to the new needs that clients have and hope that word gets round quickly that we really are "a different sort of law firm"!
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Cafcass "spins" again
I was musing this week on a comment made by the Service Manager of Kent Cafcass at the Kent Family Justice Council last week. We were told (fanfare of trumpets) that Kent Cafcass no longer had a backlog of cases and that in all cases where the Court had Directed that an officer of Cafcass should be appointed/prepare a report, an officer had been allocated.
Closer questioning revealed that this means purely that a name has been pinned to the case but not that the officer has any prospect of starting work on it or even meeting the parties and the children in the foreseeable future.
Political spindoctors seem amateurs compared to some of the "information" emanating from Cafcass.
The saddest aspect is that it is children who suffer most from the delays in the Court process as their lives and the animosity between their parents is not put on hold whilst Cafcass do nothing.
Closer questioning revealed that this means purely that a name has been pinned to the case but not that the officer has any prospect of starting work on it or even meeting the parties and the children in the foreseeable future.
Political spindoctors seem amateurs compared to some of the "information" emanating from Cafcass.
The saddest aspect is that it is children who suffer most from the delays in the Court process as their lives and the animosity between their parents is not put on hold whilst Cafcass do nothing.
Monday 1 February 2010
children caught in the crossfire.
The Children's Society published research last week which had been undertaken by the University of York (so it has to be good I say as an ex-Yorkie!) which confirmed what parents ought to know but seem to completely disregard ie that children are badly affected by arguments at home and that discord in their home environment causes children distress and depression.
Staying together "for the sake of the children" may not be the right way forward for many families and I do wonder whether parents who are just thinking about separation should come in for advice much earlier, so that they can weigh up their options with a clear picture of likely outcomes, and then decide whether their children would actually be better off with inevitably less money around but also less unhappiness?
Staying together "for the sake of the children" may not be the right way forward for many families and I do wonder whether parents who are just thinking about separation should come in for advice much earlier, so that they can weigh up their options with a clear picture of likely outcomes, and then decide whether their children would actually be better off with inevitably less money around but also less unhappiness?
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