Putting children first: rethinking the family lawyer’s role in separation

Child welfare and the voice of the child need to be front of mind for family law professionals advising on family separation, according to a report by Family Solutions Group (FSG), a multi-disciplinary group of family professionals with expertise in working with separated families in and out of court.

With the implementation of No-Fault Divorce in 2022 and, since 2024, the expectation that Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) should be explored in all cases of family separation with limited exceptions, the report contends that family lawyers have a responsibility to take a less adversarial approach. And this isn’t just an empty call from the authors; it is widely endorsed within the family law community. 

The statistics are striking. Approximately 1 in 4 children under the age of 16 in England and Wales are now living in families with separated parents. Sadly, many children in separating families experience lasting damage due to the parental conflict which so often arises in family separation. This manifests itself in psychological trauma but can also impact on future social and economic outcomes too.

The FSG report starts from the premise that something must be done about this and puts together a series of proposals for how family lawyers can adapt their approach as well as how the wider system can be redesigned to better support separating parents.

The fact that outgoing President of the Family Division Andrew McFarlane and the FSG’s creator, Lord Justice Cobb, have endorsed the report’s key recommendations confirms that they are to be taken seriously by family law practitioners.

In the survey of almost 550 family professionals working with separated families and parents the main findings were:

• 92% of respondents agree or strongly agree that family law professionals have a particular responsibility to the children of the family, not only the parent clients with whom they have a contractual relationship.
• 94% agree that family law professionals should have a responsibility to mitigate conflict between separating parents.
• Over 85% of professionals agree that the voice of the child should be considered as standard practice
• 91% of respondents were in favour of mandating training in areas such as reducing the harmful effects on children of parental conflict, hearing the voice of the child, the benefits of Parenting Programmes, and in interdisciplinary working.
• 79% were in favour of the statement that family law professionals should have reflective supervision by an external trained specialist.

There is clearly a widespread view in the profession that responsibilities and practice need to change.