At the upcoming Bar Conference 2025 (7 June, Birmingham) we’ll be exploring the evolution of the family jurisdiction with our expert panel, chaired by Elizabeth Isaacs KC MCIArb (St Ives Chambers), featuring the Domestic Abuse Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs, HHJ Carole Burgher, and Andrew Day MCIArb (St Ives Chambers).
Ahead of Bar Conference, we asked our panellists to share their thoughts on what they consider to be the most significant changes in the family jurisdiction over the past decade and what they want to see from policymakers in the future.
What has been the single most significant change in the family jurisdiction in the last decade and why?
Elizabeth Isaacs KC: The introduction of paperless working and remote hearings really began in concerted form in 2018. By March 2020 (Covid pandemic) the increased use of electronic bundles (eg Caselines), combined with the introduction of the Portal and permission for remote working, means the workload is more manageable for practitioners and arguably more accessible for clients.
Dame Nicole Jacobs: The Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which establishes children as victims in their own right, post-separation abuse and my role as Commissioner. My unique powers allow me to lay reports in Parliament which government must respond to in 56 days. This, along with the Harm Report, has shone a light on the minimisation of domestic abuse in family law proceedings, the prevalence of which is high.
Andrew Day MCIArb: From a financial remedies practitioner’s perspective, the shift in attitudes towards non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) has been huge and has had a transformative effect on the ways in which many of my cases are dealt with and on what my typical working week entails. Amendments made to the Civil and Family Procedure Rules last year and recent decisions such as the one made by the Court of Appeal in Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil CBC in 2023 seem likely to accelerate the pace of change further.
What element of family law feels innovative now, but you anticipate will be normal practice at the end of the next decade?
Elizabeth Isaacs KC: The use of ADR (alternative dispute resolution) in children’s private law cases still feels innovative, but I anticipate that as practitioners become more used to it, then it is likely to become part of normal practice in straightforward private law cases – just as private FDRs in financial remedy cases are now commonplace.
Dame Nicole Jacobs: Pathfinder is a model which centres the child from the outset of private family law proceedings and provides judges with more information at the outset. This abuse-informed model is addressing the unnecessary adversarial approach of the family court. I am also pleased to see a lean towards more child-inclusive mediation as the voice of the child should be at the centre of the family court.
Andrew Day MCIArb: The use of various different forms of NCDR in combination with one another. For example, using arbitration to resolve a discrete issue and so break a log jam in mediation, having a mediator on hand to facilitate discussion and negotiation following receipt of a neutral evaluation at a private financial dispute resolution appointment (private FDR), or arranging for a case to proceed directly to arbitration if a private FDR is unsuccessful.
If you could give one message to policymakers about the family jurisdiction, what would it be?
Elizabeth Isaacs KC: Please build more courts to replace the ones that were sold off in 2010 and reinvest in the infrastructure for the courts you already have. Many court buildings are completely unfit for purpose when dealing with the most vulnerable members of society – broken lifts, leaking pipes, no conference rooms, no refreshment facilities.
Dame Nicole Jacobs: Investment, transparency and accountability are all needed to deliver the legal duties of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and the Children Act 1989. I would also urge policymakers to make parental involvement child-centric and abuse informed: a presumption of any kind is not consistent with children being victims in their own rights and the current shortcomings of the family court in appreciating post-separation abuse.
Andrew Day MCIArb: Please invest (both figuratively and literally, financially) in the family justice system. Fuller legal aid provision for private law children and financial remedies cases, of the kind which was available prior to 2012, would make an enormous difference. So too would investment in the court estate, sitting days, etc. Most practitioners do all they sensibly can to keep cases out of court, but there will always be cases, often involving vulnerable parties, which do require timely judicial oversight and intervention. It is imperative that the family justice system is able to deal with them.
‘The future of family law – lessons learned and next steps for a more effective system’ is an unmissable discussion for barristers committed to driving change and shaping the future of justice. The session takes place at Bar Conference 2025 on Saturday 7 June at the Park Regis in Birmingham. Find out more and book your place
