The Law School at the University of Hertfordshire has managed to overcome the Covid-19 restrictions to enable one of their pioneering pro bono projects to be relaunched online.
Support at Court was originally launched in March 2020 and was designed to provide Litigants in Person (“LiPs”) attending their first hearing in a private children dispute some practical and moral support. Statistics show that there is an increasing number of parties representing themselves in children cases, and this ultimately means them attending court on their own, or with a friend/family member. They are often emotional, have no idea what to expect, and have not prepared for the hearing in any way.
Between June and September 2019, the court reported 14,659 new FHDRA (First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment) hearings, involving 21,736 children – a 5% increase on the same quarter in 2018. In around 40% of these first hearings, neither side had legal representation – a figure which has been steadily increasing since 2013 when legal aid cuts came into effect.
We met with the judiciary from the Hertfordshire Courts back in 2019 and it was heartening to see them overwhelming support our project. They recognized it would directly assist the unrepresented party, and also indirectly ensure the hearing runs more smoothly – as the unrepresented party would hopefully become informed enough to interact fully with the court process and everyone dealing with it.
Students received special training to prepare them for the project – including a session by HHJ Middleton-Roy. They then started to attend the local family courts at Watford and Hertford (with a lecturer supervising them) to offer a free drop in service. They spent their day at court supporting a number of LiPs – from helping to put their papers in order; explaining how to address the Magistrates; to making notes during the hearing itself. This was of course a great experience for the students – to learn practical skills including dealing with real clients, particularly in a stressful situation. It was also really “eye-opening” for the students to see how the court system works in practice on a busy day and all the different court staff you interact with – from the security guard and usher, to the CAFCASS officer and mediator, and finally the magistrates and clerk in the court room itself.
We unfortunately only managed to attend court on two occasions before the first national lockdown took place. The FHDRAs were moved over to telephone hearings, and we could not initially see a way for a student to be involved in a helpful way for the LiPs.
After further consideration and helpful discussions with the judiciary we have now been able to launch our online Support at Court Service. A new university webpage has been set up, with a helpful introduction from HHJ David Vavrecka, the designated Family Judge for Hertfordshire. It explains how the service works and the level of support the students can give. There is also a useful video on how to prepare for a FHDRA, created by a group of students, and signposting to other organisations who support LiPs.
We had our first virtual Support at Court session in January and we hope to book in more over the coming weeks and months. Although, we would still ideally like to get the students back at court one day in the future – the “hands on” experiences there were second to none.
The Hertfordshire Law Clinic remains open online too. Further details are available on the university website and if any of you are interested in getting involved in helping to supervise the students, please get in touch with me.
Amanda Thurston
Director of Law Clinic
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