The headlines have been awash with quotes from Lord Justice Wall's speech to Families Need Fathers delivered on Sunday 19 September 2010.
The President spoke about the irreparable damage to children caught up in their parents courtroom warfare when parents use children as "both the battlefield and the ammunition" in protracted litigation disputes. Sir Nicholas expressed the desire for family law disputes to be handled in a "less adversarial" context.
Many childcare specialists have long grappled with high conflict cases in practice and various solutions have been explored. The coalition review of family law services is now well under way with mediation being highlighted for consideration as a means of avoiding acrimonious family law disputes.
There is a great deal to commend the use of mediation in certain disputes even those involving protracted litigation as evidenced by Lord Justice Thorpe's judgment in Al-Khatib v Masry [2005] 1 FLR 381. Mediation is...
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