Child Case Management Practice

Subjects:

Family Law

Contents:

Legal Aid

Jurisdiction

Case Management

Disclosure Orders

Expert Evidence

Declaration of Parentage

Parental Responsibility Order

Residence/Contact Order

Specific Issue Order (Including Change of Name/Permanent Removal from Jurisdiction) and Prohibited Steps Order

Special Guardianship Order

Private Law Proceedings for the Disclosure of Information as to the Whereabouts of a Child

Public Law Outline

Emergency Protection Order

Recovery Order

Child Assessment Order

Appointment or Removal of a Guardian (Public Law)

Care/Supervision Order

Regulating Contact with Children in Care

Secure Accommodation Order

Placement/Adoption Order

Application in Respect of an Abducted Child under the Hague Convention 1980/Brussels IIbis Application for Registration/Enforcement of an an Abducted Child Forced Marriage Proceedings by or against a Party under Disability

The family courts dealing with public and private child law cases are inundated with work, involving huge amounts of paper. Far more effective is the creation of a file which, from the outset, focuses on material relevant to the judicial decision-making process. So for each particular issue, there needs to be an analysis of what the judicial hearing will actually require, with checklists, questionnaires etc specifying the information necessary to fulfil that ultimate objective.

Child Case Management Practice has been devised to meet that need. For every area of child law there is:

• A succinct resume of the legal framework
• A flowchart providing an overview of the relevant process from start to finish
• Detailed consideration of what the court will actually require to achieve the result applied for (including a timetable to trial and the court’s options/powers)
• A checklist of all steps to trial (including model documents such as directions etc)
• A judicial checklist for the trial judge of all material required in order to deliver judgment
• Model Orders
• Case Digests (brief summaries of key cases)

• Cutting back on file size in a fixed fee environment, thus achieving more from reduced office resources
• More focused advocacy
• Less time spent judicially reading files – and also a substantial saving in court time through more focused hearings, or settlements which are achieved because of a clearer focus on issues
• Maximising access to justice within a restricted budget