Young Lawyers - Kate Gomery: Don't Fight Fire with Fire

Domestic violence within family proceedings is an emotive and usually polarising issue   but precisely because of that it is crucial for the lawyers who conduct the cases to keep a calm and objective head. Recently I was up against counsel in a return date for a non-molestation order (I was for the applicant). My opponent's approach  in court was to attack my client's credibility in an aggressive manner whilst her client was sat next to her hissing disgusting things about my client just out of earshot of the judge. The judge was very critical of my opponent's confrontational approach and unsurprisingly  it only resulted in the tension between the parties worsening. My client was verbally abused by the respondent on the way of out court and within minutes of them leaving the court building the terms of the order had been breached again and the police were called. Lesson learnt is that as a legal representative it is important to...

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