Austin Chessell is a qualified Collaborative Solicitor, Child and Family Mediator and regular contributor to The Divorce Magazine. When it comes to divorce and family separation does the family court have to get involved? Is it part of the family court decisions
In this article I will talk about mediation with highly emotional clients, how to deal with emotional clients and some reasons why clients may be emotional. It has been a real learning experience working with couples over the past four years as
1. How mediation has helped couples; 2. When the mediation process has encountered difficulties; 3. Were those difficulties in mediation terminal or were they overcome in some way?; 4. The client’s relationship with the mediator. How family mediation has helped couples “Co
Direct Consultation With Children (DCC) in Family Mediation Services Since training to be a family mediator three years ago, several of my children issue mediation cases have led to the parents deciding that they would like to involve their children as part
1. What is Family Mediation? This is a process by which divorcing or separating couples come together to discuss issues that they need to resolve once divorce is over such as financial issues and child contact issues 2. How does the mediation process work?
Austin Chessell looks at some of the main principles of the law on International Relocation and discusses how parents can use them in family mediation as an alternative to going to court to help them shape their own agreement on whether relocation with
When parents separate, one of the most challenging aspects to navigate is how to manage child arrangements, especially during school holidays and when planning holidays abroad. These times, which should be filled with joy and relaxation for children, can often become a
Every three months, more than 14,000 new disputes between parents about their children are brought into the court system in England and Wales, affecting over 20,000 children¹. Let’s just stop and think about this. No child should be a case number. And
Worried because your ex hasn’t returned the children after they have spent time/lived with them? Francesca Dooley, Trainee Legal Executive in the family team at Birketts LLP, explains your legal options, when to call the police, and how a family solicitor can
Divorce is one of the most complex events most people will ever go through, and the list of forms and documents can feel overwhelming, but there is one document that often carries more weight in determining the financial outcome of a divorce
UK solicitors, including those in family law firms, are using diverse AI tools in 2026. If you hire a solicitor, they’ll likely make some use of AI in your case. Exactly what use may be appropriate will vary depending on your situation.
How legal fairness and personal reinvention work together on the journey back to work Article written by Peter Burgess, Senior Partner at Burgess Mee and FMC Accredited Mediator, and Stephanie Cohen, Career Coach and Founder at Passenger to Pilot. The legal approach
