Minutes of a Meeting of the Derby & District Law Society
Family Law Committee
Meeting: Wednesday 7 October 2020
Present:
Fiona Apthorpe (Secretary)
Julie Skill
Lucy Tissington
Manesha Ruperal
Apologies:
Claire Dean
Liz Doherty-Astle
Nick Herbert
No Apologies:
Diana Copestake
Ben Lawson
Vince Beckwith
Jane Lakin
Liz Guyler
Joanna Jarvis
Ruth Jones
David Guthrie
Fiona Lazenby
Melanie Bridgen
Naomi Hickman
Janine Hobday
- MATTERS ARISING
- Membership/Attendance
The meeting took place successfully by Teams although attendance was disappointingly low. Can we check that all Members of the Sub-Committee are fully paid up Members of Derby & District Law Society. The main Committee is keen to emphasise the benefits to local practitioners of being members of the main Derby and District Law Society Committee and the main Committee felt very strongly that membership of Sub-Committees when not a Member of the main Law Society ought to be the exception rather than the rule. Any who are not therefore currently Members of Derby & District Law Society will need to join the main society.
- Court User Meetings
HHJ Williscroft (Designated Family Judge for Derby) will be holding a virtual professional court user group once per month commencing on 08.10.2020 at 5:00pm. The meeting will last approximately 30 minutes. It will provide updates on both public and private law and will provide an opportunity to raise generic issues, rather than case specific ones.
Suggested agenda is as follows:
- Update re public law
- Update re private law
- Address points in the most recent newsletter
- Feedback from court users – any concerns arising/positive feedback
- Details of any local training or services
- Good news stories or well wishes
Fiona will check whether this is open to all.
- AGENDA ITEMS
- Public law
Fiona has been contacted by Tanuja Parmar Regional Implementer for the Transformation team (Midlands) in relation to Family Public Law and the new service that will be rolled out to our courts in the region. Fiona has suggested that she contact Melanie Bridgen and Melanie is asked to please report back to the Committee?
- Private/Public Children’s Cases
New initiatives highlighted by HHJ Williscroft.
Private law
Cases will now receive light touch gatekeeping by legal advisors (Week 1). They will check if a case needs an emergency hearing or not, eligibility etc. and if the case needs safeguarding checks or not, but they won’t allocate to a level of judiciary. Simple cases that don’t need safeguarding will be listed for hearings.
The rest of the cases will be block listed in Week 8 on a date but without a time. In Week 6 a District Judge will triage the cases with safeguarding letters, and fix a time and confirm whether justices /legal advisor or District Judge should deal with the case or remove the case from the list with directions. This might be for information, s7 reports, statements about alleged abuse or other matters.
The court will need to continue hearing these cases by telephone for the foreseeable future with Cafcass available also by telephone to speak separately to the parties or the court. In general, the experience is that this works reasonably well.
Why are the court changing the system ?
– They think it will save some time in getting cases listed by enabling some cases to be managed without a hearing
– Triaging the right level of judiciary is best done once they are clear on what the safeguarding letters say
– Managing what are increased numbers of cases
Also – the FLOWs (support for victims of domestic abuse) is now available for such remote hearings. Their telephone number is 0300 330 2159 , and McKenzie Friends are also able to join though should try to email the form to the court beforehand.
Public law
In November the court will go on line with the new online issue system. Staff and judiciary have already had training and report forms that enable clearer information to make decisions about need for urgent hearings and allocation. Everyone will need to have training about this and invitations will be delivered to the profession and video and written material in due course . The cases get issued and orders and filing managed centrally but referred to local gatekeepers.
- Court developments
Apparently some of the Derby judges are using the new CV cloud platform appears to be that most cases are still being dealt with bye BT meet me it seems to be the preferred option of Birmingham as well.
- Divorce/FR
There are continuing problems with the online divorce system. There is a useful summary of the current situation in the Resolution bulletin issue 207. The next stage is to enable the respondent’s solicitors details to go onto divorce petitions and for the respondent’s solicitors to receive the petition and to digitally respond. This is likely to happen before the end of the year. That will be a huge improvement. It is hoped also that there will be the facility soon to amend petitions, make miscellaneous applications and apply for personal service of a petition.
HMCTS has put together videos to show users how to apply for consent orders via the website. This is mandatory except where divorce applications have not yet reached decree nisi, existing FR applications have been made on paper, it is a variation, civil partnership or judicial separation or where a solicitor represents the respondents in FR proceedings. It is now possible to apply online for consent Orders where a party has a confidential address.
- Gossip
You had to be there…………!! If you weren’t we were probably talking about you!
- PERMANENT AGENDA ITEMS
- Database
A reminder that the database of Family Practitioners is a very useful method of communicating information to family lawyers locally.
Could everybody please double check that Members of their Family Team are included. If you are not included please let Fiona have your email address.
- Training and Education
Suggestions for topics would be appreciated.
- Local Family Justice Board
The Derby Family Local Justice Council was originally set up in 2005. It was subsequently resurrected as the Local Family Justice Board. Many Committee Members are Members and if you want to be on the LFJB’s mailing list and be sent information about training events etc please contact Joanne.eaton1@hmc.gsi.gov.uk
- Rights of Audience
HHJ Williscroft has explained that there is no longer a protocol in the family courts in Derbyshire to enable experienced Legal Executives to have generic rights of audience in the Family Proceedings Court. The position in private law proceedings is that Chartered Legal Executives are authorised persons under the Legal Services Act 2007 but are required to have an advocacy certificate before they have rights of audience in parts III, IV or V Children Act proceedings.
Chartered Legal Executives without the advocacy qualification can ask on a case by case basis for rights of audience in Part II-private law- proceedings only.
The view of the DCJs in the Midlands is that trainee legal executives and legal executives working towards their advocacy certificate can apply on a case by case basis to the judge for rights of audience with a CV which sets out that relevant experience and the kind of hearing that they wish to attend. Everyone attending a court hearing should tell the usher their status so it is clear.
If someone does not have a right of audience they can fill in the usual McKenzie friend form and provide similar assistance but they cannot have FAS home signed since they are not an advocate.
- Court User Groups
Nothing to report save as above.
- DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be remaining scheduled meeting is Wednesday 2 December by Teams.
Fiona M K Apthorpe
Secretary
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