Legal Advice Groups Launch Event Hosted By Magic Circle Law Firm.

26 Tuesday Mar 2019

Posted by Natasha in event, legal aid, LIP Service, LIPs, Researching Reform

An event looking at ways in which lawyers, lay advisors, charities and academics can help improve access to justice has been launched by the Advice Service Alliance, the Access to Justice Foundation, LegalVoice and the Litigant in Person Support Strategy.

The event is being bankrolled by Magic Circle law firm Allen & Overy.

Researching Reform was very kindly sent the invite from the Access to Justice Foundation.

There are three confirmed sessions so far, which include:

Identifying and supporting distressed clients – a psychiatrist view
Driven to digital distraction – re purposing tech for good so it works for us
Supporting health and well-being in your organisation

Allen & Overy’s press briefing for the event offers further details:

About

This collaborative event, aimed at people working in the access to justice sector, will provide space and time to share work, experiences, problems and learning points on some of the key issues facing the sector, as identified by the sector. The conference will create a dialogue between professionals and explore the potential to develop solutions and further collaboration.

Delegates will have the opportunity to engage in and contribute to strategic developments for the sector, network with access to justice and related sectors and benefit from expertise in allied and external sectors. Our aim is for attendees to leave the event with relevant and practical information in priority areas which can support the delivery of services in their organisations.

The aims and objectives of the conference are as follows:

Aims

Host a collaborative event working in partnership with access to justice organisations, for people working in the access to justice sector.
Provide a space and time for people to share their work, experience, problems and learning and discuss issues in particular focus areas that stakeholders in the sector have identified.
Bring in external sector expertise to understand how other professions and sectors support similar issues in these areas.
Focus on solutions and invest resources to investigate the potential to further develop the solutions and collaborations identified at the event.

Objectives

Delegates who attend the event will have:

Useful and practical advice or specific outputs which can be implemented in their work
Increased understanding of what other work is going on inside the access to justice sector and where their work and experiences are shared.
Opportunity to network with the access to justice sector and related external sector experts.
Opportunity to engage in and contribute to strategic developments for the sector.

While we were reading up on the event, we came across a legal support website called Advice Now, which is run by the Access To Justice Foundation. There is a Family and Personal section which deals with Family Law issues like care proceedings. Do let us know what you think of it.

The Litigant In Person Network is also interesting. Members include the Bar Pro Bono Unit and Child Law Advice.

The conference takes place on 21 May, 2019 at Allen & Overy’s London Office.

Tickets can be booked here. The event is free however the organisers request a £20 deposit which attendees will get back upon arriving at the venue.

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McKenzie Friend Guidelines To Be Revised, Call For Plain Language Guide

26 Tuesday Feb 2019

Posted by Natasha in LIPs, McKenzie Friends, Researching Reform

≈ 3 Comments

Responses to a consultation looking into the rise of McKenzie Friends in the family courts has been published. The report was released on Monday, and offers thoughts on the ways in which lay advisors should be able to attend hearings, the kind of support they may need and what codes of conduct they should adhere to.

In the report, the Judicial Executive Board makes the following recommendations:

All courts should apply the current law applicable to McKenzie Friends as established by Court of Appeal authority
The provision of a Plain Language Guide for LiPs and McKenzie Friends
Practice Guidance on McKenzie Friends should be updated

There are other thoughts inside the report. The following comments and recommendations were made by respondents to the consultation:

McKenzie Friends should be granted automatic rights of audience
There should be an outright prohibition on McKenzie Friends and other non-regulated individuals or organisations providing legal services
The term McKenzie Friend is confusing and should be replaced with “court supporter”
The term McKenzie Friend is widely known and understood by lawyers and the public
A less strict approach to granting rights of audience should apply to family
proceedings

You can read the report here.

Image courtesy of the Custody Minefield

Justice Minister Side Steps Question On Legal Aid For Domestic Violence Victims

08 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by Natasha in Domestic Violence, LIPs, Researching Reform

≈ 1 Comment

Minister for Justice, Dominic Raab ignored an MP’s request to allow victims of domestic violence the opportunity to claim legal aid retrospectively while the new measures have yet to come into force.

The tense exchange took place during a discussion in the House of Commons on 5th December, in which concerned MPs grilled the Justice Minister on the government’s efforts to help litigants in person.

Gloria De Piero, who is Shadow Justice Minister, asked Dominic Raab whether the government would consider allowing victims of domestic violence who had gone through or are going through the family courts and unable to access legal aid under the current restrictions, the chance to recoup their costs once measures to open up access to legal aid were implemented in the new year.

Frustrated by the government’s efforts to address the issue, De Piero takes a swipe at Raab:

“I note the Justice Secretary is advertising for a second speechwriter at a rate of £70,000. As there is cash to spare, will he commit to ensuring that domestic violence victims who seek legal aid, as of yesterday’s announcement, will be able to claim retrospectively under the new criteria?”

Sidestepping the question entirely, The Justice Minister tells De Piero:

“We will be laying the statutory instrument shortly and I think, beneath the political point-scoring, the hon. Lady welcomed it. It will make it easier to apply for legal aid in family cases where there has been a victim of domestic abuse. More broadly, wider personal support units provide trained volunteers who give free independent assistance to people facing proceedings in the family sphere and beyond. There are 20 centres in 16 cities. I hope she would welcome that.”

The discussion also highlights the government’s latest attempts at helping litigants in person (LIPs), including its Litigant in Person Support Strategy, which is designed to offer LIPs support, information, and either free or low cost legal advice. We would be interested to hear from anyone who has used this service.

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Access To Justice For Litigants In Person

03 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by Natasha in LIPs, Researching Reform

≈ 4 Comments

For anyone interested in the current line of thought on how to support and incorporate parties in court proceedings who do not have lawyers to represent them, this summary on the National Forum’s event on the matter from December 2015, is an interesting read.

The event saw around 130 high profile judges, lawyers, advice workers, academics, regulators, civil servants and others to discuss “progress made on improving access to justice for litigants in person (LiPs)”. Clearly, there hasn’t been much progress at all, but the piece above is still worth checking out. Some of the ideas are good, now the courts just need to action them…

If you do have time to read the summary (and a few digestives to go with your tea), we’d love to hear what you think.

A big thank you to Dana for sharing this item with us.

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New Family Orders Mean Parents Can Now Leave Court With A Copy

29 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by Natasha in Family Law, LIPs, Researching Reform

≈ 2 Comments

In a bid to help simplify the often awkward and unnecessarily complex language used within the Family Courts, the President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby, has announced a new set of Private Law Orders, which are designed to be user friendly.

The Orders relate to the Child Arrangements Programme (CAP), which focuses on disagreements between parents or families about arrangements concerning any children involved. It is hoped that the changes to the orders will make it easier for the growing number of self represented parents (Litigants in Person, LIPs) to understand the process and engage with it.

One of the most exciting aspects of these re-formatted orders is that they are set using templates which, we are told, should allow parents and other parties to leave the court with a copy of the order on the same day. A very welcome development, as orders can often take months to appear.

If you’d like to take a look at the drafts for these orders, you can do so by clicking the first link above (the documents are sitting at the bottom of the Jordans post, and can be downloaded).

What do you think? Are these new forms really user friendly, or do they still leave a lot of questions unanswered for families representing themselves in court?

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Litigants In Person: Ask A Question, Get An Answer on LIP Service

19 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by Natasha in LIP Service, LIPs

≈ 2 Comments

Researching Reform will shortly be producing another one of its LIP Service videos for self represented families, and this time we would like to offer you answers to some of your most frequently asked questions.

We already have a list of things we will be adding, which we’ve gathered over the years assisting families, from commonly asked questions to difficult to find information we are often asked for, but we’d love you to add your queries below.

So, please do let us know what family court related questions you have and we will do our best to answer them all.

Research Study: Cross-Examination of Vulnerable Witnesses By Litigants In Person

27 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by Natasha in Family Law, LIPs

≈ 14 Comments

The President of the Family Division, James Munby has announced today that the Ministry of Justice will be collecting information on issues surrounding the direct cross examination of vulnerable witnesses by LIPs with a view to carrying out a research study.

This research will focus on Private Law hearings in the Family Court or Family Division where an issue arises in relation to the actual or potential cross-examination of a vulnerable or intimidated witness, by a litigant in person accused of domestic abuse.

Family law judges at every level will be the first to be approached in relation to this matter. Those judges participating will be asked to fill out forms relating to cases where this kind of cross examination occurs or may have occurred. Data will be collected from 2nd March until 29th May of this year. Once the data has been gathered, the research for this project will take place, with a view to seeking out what powers are available to deal with this area and to find ways to support vulnerable witnesses being directly questioned by self represented applicants.

You can access his statement from the link above, but we have produced it below for you also:

“I am pleased to report that the Ministry of Justice is intending to gather information, and subsequently undertake a research study, on private law cases where direct cross examination of a vulnerable witness by a litigant in person is, or threatens to be, an issue.

They will start by asking family judges at all levels who have such cases in front of them at any stage of proceedings to complete the attached form. I am therefore asking you to assist in the project by ensuring that if such a case comes before you, you complete and return the form to the named HMCTS contact.

The data collection stage of the process will begin next Monday 2nd March and run until the 29th May. The research study will then explore the powers available to manage these cases and seek to establish what else could be considered to support both the management of the cases and protection of vulnerable witnesses.

I very much hope that you will assist in the project by completing the forms in every relevant case and by agreeing to take part in the subsequent research, to which I expect to give my formal approval later this year.

The Court staff will ensure that you have access to the forms and details of the contact and if you have any questions they should be directed to that contact or to my office via Jo Wilkinson (Joanna.wilkinson@judiciary.gsi.gov.uk)

Thank you very much for your assistance in this important project.
James Munby”

The form for this study can be downloaded by clicking on the link above and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.