Stuart Clark: The Race to Court 2 - A Paralegal's Guide

My colleague Lucy Loizou wrote an opinion piece published on 26 April 2012 about why you may need to be "first to issue" divorce proceedings where there is a jurisdiction race. In light of her piece I set out here how to race to Court in those circumstances.

This opinion piece relates to my experiences at the Principal Registry of the Family Division (PRFD). I have often donned the running shoes for the quick sprint along High Holborn to be first to issue (not always purely in the metaphorical sense!). The PRFD typically take 10-14 days to issue a petition. In tight jurisdiction races this time cannot be wasted; a personal appearance at the Court by a junior member of staff to make an application to the District Judge of the Day (DJD) to expedite the issue of proceedings is needed.

The District Judges at the PRFD are acutely alert and aware of jurisdiction races and the issues involved. However one can easily be way-laid side-tracked ...

Read the full article here.