Preparing for remote family court hearings

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, the family court in England has had to radically upgrade and change the way it works.

There had been a move to submitting some applications and documents online in the months leading up to the ‘national lockdown’, but the sudden changes caused by Covid-19 to our ways of living and working required the court to quickly and radically move physical court hearings online.

It is now common practice for most family court hearings to be conducted via telephone or video call.  Initially there was a mixed response to this, but as everyone has adjusted and adapted to a new way of working it is very unlikely that things will go back to how they were.  It is therefore important that you do not feel put off from pursuing, defending or challenging an application via the court in order to achieve a fair outcome for you and your family.

Many of my clients have benefited from having video conferencing calls with myself and the team in the run-up to court hearings so they can understand the format, and we have devised ways of being able to have confidential discussions away from the other parties and the Judge (whether by dialling in from the same location or via WhatsApp messaging).  On the day, we will ensure that you feel as prepared as you would have done had we been going into a physical court building.

One real advantage of remote hearings is the time and cost saving impact it can have.  Previously you could expect to spend several hours inside a County Court building waiting for a judge and negotiating back and forth - and you would be liable for your solicitor’s fees for that time.  Now, we have a fixed slot and a defined time estimate for the Hearing which must be stuck to.  That means that issues are narrowed and identified in advance of the Hearing so the Judge can focus on the key issues. In most cases, our clients are benefiting from this new and more structured system –and it is certainly the case that preparation is key.

You can find out more about Harrowells’ proactive approach to helping clients prepare for remote family court hearings by contacting our specialist family law team.