Blog - Personal Narrative
Life back in Blighty
Now back in England and with the lessons learned in Sydney, I continued my work as a solicitor dealing with complex cases, often involving an international element. This was originally through my own business, Panorama Legal Services.
In April 2007, I co-founded with Ann Thomas, The International Family Law Group (iFLG). It is a specialist law firm providing services to the international community as well as for purely national clients. iFLG has a special contract with the Legal Services Commission for child abduction work and is regularly instructed by the UK Government (Central Authority). It acts for international families, ex pats and others in respect of financial implications of relationship breakdown including forum shopping and international enforcement of orders. It receives instructions from foreign lawyers and, as accredited specialists, acts for clients of other law firms seeking their specialist experience.
iFLG is situated in Covent Garden near the Law Courts. Its mobile telephone accessible website includes valuable information, podcasts, a government approved child abduction questionnaire and formulae as a starting point for calculating fair financial settlements. It has emergency 24 hour contact arrangements. Contact at http://www.iflg.uk.com
We have grown from 4 of us – and I was very part time originally, to over 20 and we have been very successful. It has also been very enjoyable as well as hard work
I conduct mediations, invariably where a directive approach is needed including where both lawyers are present. I undertake agency work for other law firms with travel abroad for court cases. I act as a specialist adviser to law firms on their more complex family law matters, by giving early neutral evaluation. I continue my family law writing and lecturing and training for other lawyers including preparing and presenting training videos. I continue to sit part time as a family court judge in London and I undertake other work in the family law context.
In 2007, I was invited to join and then became chair of the Family Law Reform Review of the Centre of Social Justice, the think tank set up by Ian Duncan Smith MP. In July 2009 we produced our final report, “Every Family Matters”, which has had a significant influential impact on subsequent government and policy thinking on a wide range of matters affecting family law and family life. I was delighted to be involved in such an important reform group.
More details are set out on my Services page.
Other professional activities
Whilst at Theodore Goddard, I was able to get involved in the Solicitors Family Law Association (now known as resolution). I considered their Code of Practice to be fundamental. If a case was well handled in a conciliatory way, the pain of the separation and break up could be eased and the children could be helped. I have been able to take part in many of their activities, including chairing their training committee, redrafting the Code into Plain English, producing guidance on Good Practice, actively engaged on parliamentary reform and sitting on their National Committee for 8 years.
I qualified as a mediator. Well most specialists did. I even spent 3 years as vice chair of the UK College of Family Mediators. But it was a time of constant and self destructive in-fighting between the mediation organisations, yet at the same time each seeking govt funds. Totally frustrating. At grass roots level, many mediators were doing excellent work and a good number of cases settled though mediation rather than via courts. However it has been no surprise to me that orthodox mediation did not sustain early growth and hopes.
I think a better future for ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution i.e. not going to court!) lies in two directions, family arbitration, and directive mediation.
Family arbitration occurred to me in Spring 2001 as one constructive way forward in some cases for ADR and to avoid court, yet overcome some of the shortcomings in mediation. I promoted this to the profession and qualified as an arbitrator. It needs to be binding in law. So far the govt is luke warm but it is working well in several other countries. I have chaired a working party which is drafting rules for family arbitration in England whose report is on the ADR area of the Information pages.
Since my return from Australia and based on what I saw there, I am also promoting a more directive style of mediation. It starts as conventional mediation but if it appears a case is not settling, the mediator is empowered to give more direct encouragements including indications of what might happen if the matter were to be heard at court and other ways to obtain a fair outcome. Lawyers often attend the mediation with their clients. It is appropriate for cases where disclosure has been given and where attempts to settle through conventional negotiation have failed. They are very hard work as a mediator. I have undertaken a number of them and I hope the style will become much used in “hard to settle” cases. More information again on the Information area.
In 1988 I was asked to do a minor talk on tax issues as part of a day conference for family lawyers. Ten days before the event, the Chancellor radically changed the law. The talk became the most important one of the day and delegates rose from 50 to 250. Gulp! Sink or swim. And from that I took to law lecturing, and writing, as one part of my practice, and it has been one of the most enjoyable aspects over recent years. I have spoken extensively at conferences in England and now quite frequently abroad. I also present training videos, learning the skills of scripting, asking the questions, doing pieces to camera and editing. I have written extensively for many magazines and the news media.
In 2001, the EU sprung a new law known as Brussels II on the family law profession which made radical changes to divorce law. Somehow I was one of the first to get to the change, wrote about it, lobbied for improvements and have been very involved ever since on European developments in family law. There is now a huge EU influence on domestic family law.
Over the past 10 years I have been involved in possible reform of the divorce financial provision law in England. I have felt it unfair in various ways. I was also conscious that on divorce the treatment of commitments and sacrifices made during a marriage goes to the public perception of the respect for marriage. Accordingly when the House of Lords gave judgement in White, I followed it and subsequent cases, chairing an SFLA committee and sitting on a Law Society committee looking at reform. I believe the present law is much fairer but the extent of discretion creates uncertainty which then creates its own unfairness. I am looking at how IT and web based solutions can create more certainty and fairness.
A key element in my practice over the past 15 years has been the international aspects of the work. Alas too rarely has it involved foreign travel but I have very much enjoyed dealings with foreign lawyers and learning of family law abroad. It has been a super opportunity to do this work.
In 1995 I was appointed to sit as a Deputy (part time) District Judge at the family courts in London. It is one of the most professionally satisfying parts of my practice.
Finally in this overview, I have been pleased to be part of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship, including helping in several aspects of lobbying and advising on possible changes. I have learned that the easy black and white solution is rarely the answer or the best for families in breakdown. I am immensely saddened by all marriage breakdown and constantly seek solutions in law and practice which meet the family at their time of need, for fairness and to recognise marital commitments, yet reflect the crucial importance of respect for marriage.
Writing
I have written often about family law matters, and enjoyed doing so. The words seemed to come quite freely – and extensively! I have also enjoyed reading and a good story. So when an opportunity arose in Australia , I wrote my first book. It is called “The Innocent Martyr? and is a dramatised fiction based on the story of one of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. I was able to carry out original research whilst in Sydney and set a number of the events and scenes in areas I knew. I am told by those who have read it that it is a good read and a good story. It is presently being given to agents. In the meantime, I am about to start my next book and will update my site as the book develops.
