With lockdown easing it is not unreasonable to expect the family courts to return to normal soon. However, Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Division, believes this expectation is naïve. In his 9 June paper 'The Road Ahead', he comments that social distancing is likely to remain for many months so it is 'unlikely that anything approaching a return to the normal court working environment will be achieved before the end of 2020 or even spring of 2021'. The paper acknowledges the volume of work in the courts was already excessive before the pandemic. This has been exacerbated with many cases adjourned at the start of lockdown. There is now a huge backlog.
Fiona Read appears in The Law Society Gazette discussing family justice, particularly what is happening now that lockdown restrictions are being lifted.
Family justice: back to normal? is available to read on The Law Society Gazette website.
Fiona is a partner and head of the family team in Putney. She has extensive experience in all aspects of family law. Fiona frequently handles cases with an international element and which often involve high value financial settlements in divorce, disputed arrangements with children (including re-location to other countries) pre and post-nuptial agreements and co-habitation and property disputes. She is also noted for her expertise in matrimonial finance work.