Guidance for courts appointing a solicitor for the child in specified proceedings

The Law Society has produced new guidance for the courts appointing solicitors in specified proceedings, prepared with the approval of the President of the Family Division and HMCS and also having taken into account the views of Resolution, the Association of Lawyers for Children and CAFCASS. It is intended for use nationally throughout England and Wales from April 2007 and replaces the Statement of Good Practice on appointing a solicitor for the child issued in November 2003. The new guidance should be treated as an integral part of operation of the Protocol for Judicial Case Management in Public Law Children Act Cases. The main change in applying the selection criteria is that all children representative members of the Law Society's Children Panel are eligible for appointment by the court. For further information see October [2007] Fam Law.