• Family Law

• • Overview

  • A Day in the Life of

  Put Simply...

  Family law disputes handled in the judicial system include divorce, separation, adoption, child custody, visitation rights, financial settlements and distribution of assets, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, guardianship, etc.
  
  Other matters which can be covered include validity of trusts, wills and inheritance laws, deaths, pension, retirements and other benefits, coverage and validity of insurance claims and so on.

  What is involved in Family Law?

  Once a barrister takes up a case, various processes begin; review the brief thoroughly, discuss the case with the attending solicitor, conference with clients to confirm further proceedings and brief them on what to expect in court. They are then expected to negotiate and arrange for a settlement when parties to the dispute are agreeable.
  
  Otherwise, they will proceed with the case, file pleadings and motions as necessary and argue the case before the court. Beginning with small matters in county courts, bigger and complicated cases are heard in the Family division of the High Court.
  Barristers taking up family and child dispute cases will consult with attending solicitors, medical and psychological experts and with the affected clients before preparing their arguments.
  
  If the case involves financial matters, such as wills, trusts, employment and benefits’ issues, the pre-trial work will also involve getting familiarized with prevailing laws and regulations, and accordingly drafting pleadings.

  What is needed for Family Law?

  Standard requirements for a barrister are good academic records, high proficiency in oral and written communications, good negotiation skills, a disciplined and organised approach to work and a clear and cogent thought process. Particularly essential are time and people management skills. Specific to appearing in family law matters, you need to be friendly and empathetic with clients, understand the issues thoroughly and support and guide clients through the whole process. You should be able to analyze what strategy and approach is best suited for the client.
  
  This may vary from case to case depending on the temperament and personalities of the individuals involved. Most cases will involve input from a variety of people associated with the cases in different capacities. A barrister will need to liaise and coordinate with all such individuals – law enforcement officers, doctors, psychologists, social workers and welfare authorities, to deliver a seamless and unanimous argument before the court.

  Current Climate for Family Law

  New developments under family law include how barristers will approach and devise strategies for disputes from civil partnerships, the volume of which is expected to rise steadily. Alternate avenues of dispute resolution are being resorted to more often in disputes involving children, or solicitor advocates handling the cases themselves.
  
  Family Courts and the House of Lords have provided new precedents in certain high-profile cases, where ambiguous points of law have been given a clearer definition. A few such points – distribution of assets in a divorce, spousal rights to family trusts and other instruments held to protect wealth, value of contribution to assets accumulated during marriage where the spouse is not working.
  
  

  Day in the life of a Family Associate at Ambrose Appelbe

  I usually get to the office between 8.30 and 9.00, but earlier if I have a morning hearing or meeting that I need to prepare for.  While my computer starts up I boil the kettle for a cup of tea in my over-sized mug. I often get distracted from the tea-making by an email that has come in from a client, and have to re-boil the water.  Eco-conscious colleagues tell me off.

  The majority of the emails I receive are from clients, often updating me on recent events or seeking advice.  The greatest proportion of my workload is divorce and the finances associated with a divorce (known as ancillary relief), but I also deal with private children disputes, pre-nups, post-nups and cohabitation matters. I represent high-net worth individuals and run many of my own files, but also assist the managing partner with more complex cases. 

  My client’s finances are often complicated which requires me to understand much more than just family law;  pensions, trusts, tax, off-shore assets and company structures are often integral to my cases.

  The nature of my work means that my clients are often upset or angry about their circumstances and it is important that they can easily contact me for advice.  Their concerns can be very serious, such as the other parent not returning the child at the agreed time causing my client to fear kidnapping.  I have to react quickly to deal with such matters and those tasks I planned for my day fall by the wayside.

  Once a week we have an internal budget meeting which is attended by all the fee-earners in the firm.  We are told whether each department has met its weekly billing targets and we discuss new clients.  The trainees (there are usually two in the firm) often brief us on relevant developments in the law.

  Lunch is usually between 1 and 2.  My firm is small but very social and as I trained there, I know everyone well.  On a sunny day a few of us will sit on the grass in Lincoln’s Inn (the location of my office) but for most of the year we squeeze into one office with our sandwiches.

  I attend court every one or two weeks, usually with a barrister.  The court prefers people to agree family disputes and usually lists negotiation hearings where the court cannot impose a decision but encourages the parties to reach an agreement.  These hearings can last all day and, if agreement is not reached, I leave court with a large list of things I have to do to progress the case to the next hearing such as obtaining expert evidence or drafting a witness statements.  If I have been at court all day I will return to a flurry of emails and telephone messages to deal with.

  We do not have direct telephone lines and our reception closes at 5.30.  This is the time I will often set aside to draft complex documents or pour over large disclosure from the other side as I know I will not be interrupted by phone calls. 

  I tend to leave work at around 6.30.  If I have more work to do, I will log on to my work computer at home so I can meet friends after work, rather than make them wait around for me.

  Daily diary

  Time:	Diary entry
  08:30	Arrive at the office, deal with emails.  Check diary and plan day.
  09:30	Check DX and deal with anything urgent.
  10:00	Dictate letters and documents, make phone calls to clients, other side, counsel etc.
  12:30	Internal budget meeting.
  13:00	Lunch.
  14:00	Attend court.
  16:30	Back from court – deal with emails and telephone messages.
  18:30	Leave the office.
  19:00	Attend CPD lecture.

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