Writing a family law column is inevitably complicated by the confidentiality issues involved. Every solicitor owes a duty of confidentiality to their client but in most family cases that confidentiality is extended by virtue of the restrictions on reporting. The complexities of media reporting in family cases is addressed in detail in the Guide recently published by the President of the Family Division.
For my own part when writing about my work the aim is to keep the essence of the point I wish to make whilst ensuring that any example could not be traced back to any individual client or case. I am certainly not in favour of unrestricted reporting in the family courts but I am also not the first to wonder whether this lack of a "human face" in respect of what happens in the family courts is part of the problem in addressing the widespread lack of understanding of the importance of public funding...
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