Lawyers and mediators : b the brave new world of services for separating families

Do lawyers make matters worse, or do they provide information, advice and support which can help to prevent disputes arising or manage them when they do? Do mediators enable parties to communicate and reach agreements tailor-made to their needs? Or working outside the legal framework, do they find it difficult to protect weaker parties and access expert advice? What happens when lawyers become mediators? This book will describe the structure of service provision and the day-to-day work of lawyers, mediators, and lawyer mediators, drawing on empirical work carried out between 2013 and 2015 immediately after the recent changes to the management of divorce and separation within the family justice system. The reduction in legal aided help in 2013 and the failure of mediation to fill the gap in 2014–15 have given rise to a difficult debate. This book aims to provide an account of some of the practical effects of these policies through a description of the daily work of practitioners in the sector. It raises the question of whether we need to choose between traditional legal services and the new processes of private ordering or whether intermediate positions might be possible. Preface Contents 1. Family Legal Services and the State I. Family Law, the Role of Solicitors and Legal Aid II. Legal Aid and Family Matters III. Mediation and the Abandonment of Legal Support IV. Impact of the Legal Aid Changes of April 2013 on Services for Individuals Contemplating Separation V. Consequences of Lack of Representation VI. What Follows 2. The Marketisation of the Legal Profession I. Deregulation and Freeing the Market II. New Questions III. The Changing Market for Divorce-Related Services IV. What Are Family Law Solicitors Offering to Prospective Clients? V. Online Divorce Services: Extending the Boundaries of Lawyers' Services? 3. What Solicitors are Doing I. The Study Methodology: Observing Solicitors II. The Observational Data III. Conclusion 4. The Organisation and Aims of Mediation in England and Wales I. Organisation II. Qualifications and Training III. Codes of Practice IV. Does Mediation only Deal with Disputes? V. Information and Advice VI. Children VII. What Follows 5. The Practice of Family Mediators I: Non-Lawyers I. Group 1: Non-Lawyer Mediators Working in Non-Legal Settings II. Group 2: Non-Lawyer Mediators Working in Legal Settings III. General Observations 6. The Practice of Family Mediators II: Legally Trained Mediators I. Group 3: Mediators who Were Qualified Solicitors but Were no Longer Practising II. Group 4: Lawyer Mediators Practising Mediation and Law in a Legal Setting III. What Follows 7. Towards an Integrated Service? I. Types of Mediation II. Who is the Client? III. A Proposal: 'Legally Assisted' Family Mediation IV. An ADR Continuum V. Finally Legal Aid Bibliography Index Do lawyers make matters worse, or do they provide information, advice and support which can help to prevent disputes arising or manage them when they do? Do mediators enable parties to communicate and reach agreements tailor made to their needs? Or working outside the legal framework, do they find it difficult to protect weaker parties and access expert advice? What happens when lawyers become mediators? This book describes the structure of service provision and the day to day work of lawyers, mediators, and lawyer mediators, drawing on empirical work carried out 2013-15 immediately after the recent changes to the management of divorce and separation within the family justice system Family legal services and the state -- The marketisation of the legal profession -- What solicitors are doing -- The organisation and aims of mediation in England and Wales -- The practice of family mediators I : non-lawyers -- The practive of family mediators II : legally trained mediators -- Towards an integrated service?