Senior Judge Calls Out One Couple One Lawyer Services As A Means Of Reducing Conflict For Separating Families
The word “justice” should be taken out of “family justice system” as part of a broader effort to seek solutions instead of justice, according to His Honour Judge Martin Dancey. Speaking at the recent Private Law Children & Financial Remedies Conference held by 3PB in Birmingham, HHJ Dancey explained the problems with using justice as a benchmark. He argued that, while “justice” means fair, welfare-based outcomes to legal professionals, it means another thing to those going through the family courts. As such, he said he has argued for 15 years that justice should be taken out or family justice system.
He explained that when families go through separation they go through a range of emotions akin to the bereavement curve. Quoting the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory’s 2022 study Separating Families: Experience of Separation and Support, he said families are out of their comfort zone and there is an adversarial element leading to a potential for conflict. According to another NFJO study, it’s said there are higher levels of health service use in the year before proceedings as well as mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Not only does this impact separating parties, explained HHJ Dancey, but there is solid evidence of the impact it has on the children involved, much of which was elucidated in a 2018 study by Harold and Sellars.
HHJ Dancey said he would go as far as to hand out a raft of information to parents prior to proceedings highlighting the impact of conflict on children. These impacts, he said, include sleep problems, physical health problems, academic problems, and a vast effect on their emotions ranging from anger through to low self-esteem and a wish for invisibility. Addressing family lawyers’ role in this, HHJ Dancey said:
“Forensic success does not mean the best outcome for your client. I know the feeling of winning in court. It doesn’t matter. What matters is, what is the outcome for this family holistically speaking and in particular for the children involved? Children get lost in the process and parents abdicate power to a referee […] It is costly – financially and emotionally.”
In seeking solutions instead of seeking justice, HHJ Dancey put forward several suggestions. At a basic level these included improved listening and more cautious use of adversarial language. Other concepts included always keeping the focus on the child and the holistic welfare of the family even when dealing with money; engaging parents in the process of finding solutions; and out-of-court solutions such as mediation, arbitration, private FDR, and one couple, one lawyer resolutions.
We completely support HHJ Dancey’s speech which summarises all the latest research and thinking and chimes with our own experience of what many separating couples want: less conflict, and more resolution which was what our One Couple One Lawyer service was designed to promote.
Author Name: Editor
Published content by The Divorce Surgery Editorial Team.
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