Litigants in Person and the Family Justice System

Description

This book is about those who represent themselves as Litigants in Person in the family justice system. It calls for a refocusing of the debate about the historical challenges associated with Litigants in Person as well as the role they should play within the family justice system in England and Wales. Drawing together interviews with Litigants in Person and decades of research into self-representation from across multiple jurisdictions, this book provides an account of the family justice system through the eyes of its users. It employs an innovative socio-legal framework comprising feminist theory, a Bourdieusian theory of class, vulnerability theory, and actor-network theory to explore the journey that Litigants in Person take through the legal, cultural and social context of the family court. It provides fresh insight into the diverse challenges that people face within this process and how these relate to wider pressures within the family justice system. It argues that there are important lessons to be learned from Litigants in Person. By understanding how and why people come to the point of self-representing, and the kinds of experiences they have when they do, the book advocates the importance of forging a more positive and effective relationship between Litigants in Person and the family justice system. Acknowledgements Contents List of Abbreviations Table of Cases 1. Introduction I. Litigants in Person and the Family Justice System II. The Family Justice Landscape III. Where Next for Family Justice? IV. Learning from LIPs V. Chapter Outline 2. The Changing Landscape of Family Justice I. Neoliberalism and the Family Justice System II. Family Justice at Breaking Point? III. Domestic Abuse and Family Justice IV. COVID-19 and Family Justice V. A Turning Point for Family Justice 3. Conceptualising Litigants in Person I. Tensions in Family Justice Research II. Marginalised Perspectives III. Inequality, Disadvantage, and Difference IV. The State and the Family Justice System V. Material Manifestations of Disadvantage VI. A Theoretical and Empirical Enquiry 4. Navigating the Family Justice System I. Procedural Requirements II. Legal Norms III. Physical Environments, Social Hierarchies and Cultural Expectations IV. The Full-Representation Model 5. Contributing to the Family Court Process I. Speaking in Court II. Using Paperwork to Communicate III. Asking and Answering Questions IV. Being Heard within the Family Court Process V. Changing the Conversation 6. Finding a Role in the Family Justice System I. Relationships with Judges II. Relationships with Opposing Lawyers III. Relationships with Other LIPs IV. Finding a Role 7. Perceptions of Family Justice I. The Expectation-Experience Disconnect II. Understanding Decisions and Outcomes III. A Cycle of Exclusion IV. Family Justice Journeys 8. Conclusion I. Litigants in Person and the Family Justice System II. LASPO: The End of Family Justice? III. How to Break a Cycle of Exclusion Bibliography Index