What’s in a name: is it a solicitor or a barrister you need?

I was dismayed when Jules, a mother who has been all through financial proceedings, right to a final hearing, told me she had not understood until afterwards that the barrister was much more important than her solicitor. She had a solicitor who did an excellent job and was empathetic and understanding of the narcissistic abuse

What’s the difference between a witness statement and a position statement? How do I write one?

I’ve seen some confusion over these recently, as well as a template form that people are finding online which is incorrect, and even courts ordering a position statement when they mean a witness statement! Briefly, witness statements are your evidence i.e. what you will tell the court you’ve seen and heard, and position statements are

By |November 28th, 2022|0 Comments

Are you keeping your children in the dark?

A new study in Wales of children involved in court proceedings has found that they are more likely than their peers to be anxious or depressed, although the study didn’t look at whether they may just have been adversely affected by the separation of their parents rather than the court proceedings. Other research has highlighted

Do barristers lie when they draft position statements and court orders?

Litigants in person often complain to me about barristers lying to the court.  They draft position statements full of lies and then after the hearing they draft court orders saying things were agreed or ordered when they weren’t. Let’s get this straight from the outset: barristers are not allowed to lie, or to mislead the

By |April 30th, 2022|2 Comments

Guns, gaslighting in court and solicitors’ fees

We were all horrified when five people, including a child, were shot dead in Plymouth last August – this is the UK, not the US, and we don’t do mass shootings here.  At least, not too often.   The police are supposed to police gun licences but they don’t have time to do this properly and

By |March 28th, 2022|0 Comments

Coming soon …… the new divorce law

We’ve waited a long time for ‘no fault’ divorce ie a divorce without having to make allegations of unreasonable behaviour or adultery if you don’t want to wait until you’ve been separated for two years. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 received royal assent in June 2020 and is finally due to come into

By |November 28th, 2021|0 Comments

Shared care, court fees to increase, Judge Evans-Gordon

How does shared care (50/50 custody) work with a narcissist? Short answer: badly. But unfortunately until the courts have more understanding of domestic abuse, and some knowledge of personality disorders, they're unlikely to stop making orders for parents to share the care of their children. In an ideal world, shared care can work well for

By |September 27th, 2021|1 Comment

How to navigate legal gobbledegook

I’ve had a few clients recently who’ve received orders or correspondence from the court which they’ve failed to understand.  Or, rather, the court has failed to put it into plain English which a non-professional can understand.   And clarity is so important in court proceedings. Firstly there was the client who applied for her ex to

By |August 30th, 2021|0 Comments

Torn Apart

After two years in the making, the Channel 4 Dispatches programme about domestic abuse and the family courts was finally shown last week.  If you missed it you can find it here, but beware if you’re going through the family court in children proceedings as you may find it triggering or distressing. Louise Tickle, journalist,

Is he a narcissist or ‘just’ abusive?

My lockdown reading included Lundy Bancroft’s ‘Why does he do that?’ and I was surprised to learn that he believes only about one in twelve abusers has a personality disorder like narcissistic or borderline personality disorder. Lundy Bancroft's perspective is a little different to others as he’s spent most of his career working with abusive men

Result of the Court of Appeal hearing

The Court of Appeal has finally delivered judgement in the four appeals relating to fact finding hearings and the impact of domestic abuse on contact.  If you missed my previous post about these appeals you can read it here: It was a big event with all those heavyweight barristers and we had high hopes of

By |April 25th, 2021|1 Comment

Gaslighting

“A lie once told remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth” Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propagandist Gaslighting is what abusive people do to make you doubt your own sanity so that they can gain power and control over you: it’s a common tactic in coercive control. The term ‘gaslighting’ comes

By |March 26th, 2021|0 Comments

Q: When is a Court Order not an Order?

A: When it's only a direction I’ve noticed how stressed my clients can get about sending their documents to the court on time so here’s an explanation of how directions work. The court will always make an order at the end of a case: that’s the whole point of applying to the court in the

By |February 26th, 2021|0 Comments
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