The Family Law Podcast

Rather prematurely, this episode was suppose to be celebrating 30 years of the FDR… It is in fact 26 years since the introduction of FDRs but Maria Henty and Geoffrey Kelly have decided to discuss their development and the current state of play anyway. Maria and Geoff discuss the changes over the past two decades and the development of pFDR, and what might happen in the future.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode of the Pump Court Chambers Family Law Podcast, Rebekah Batt is joined by Edward Cooke, Charlotte Millard and Victoria Ellis to discuss “Putting Children First” following the publication of the Family Solutions Group Report of the same title in March of this year and linked here.The discussion includes a summary of the report and the recommendations therein, how good the court system currently is at hearing the ‘voice of the child’, what we can do to improve and how professionals might reduce conflict in Children Act cases. Other resources referenced or relevant and useful are as follows: Separated Parenting Programme Directory – linked here; Dame Rachel de Souza’s letter to separating parents – linked here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode The Family Law Podcast meets Annmarie Carvalho’s Staying Sane in Law podcast for an exciting chat about the ups and downs of family law, what Annmarie brings to the table as a former family lawyer turned therapist, Annmarie’s book Staying Sane in Family Law, and what its like to swap the host’s chair for the guest seat! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maria Henty, in this episode, is joined by Isabella Thomas-Kelly and Natalya Evans to discuss applying for 3rd six pupillages and how to deal with and manage the disappointment of not being taken on. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second episode of this series of the Pump Court Family Law Podcast, Rebekah Batt is joined by Jennifer Pollock and Catriona Ellis, of Irwin Mitchell, and Elena Johnson of Pump Court Chambers to discuss neurodiversity in private children proceedings. This episode was inspired by Catriona and Jennifer’s article linked here and includes discussion around helpful evidence for the court and authors of section 7 reports, how to deal with cases where there is no diagnosis, when to start thinking about the issue and methods to assist parties with neurodiversity, as well as neurodivergent children. Other resources referred to or which may be useful are: Family Justice Council Guidance on Neurodiversity in the Family Justice System, January 2025 – linked here;Sunflower Lanyard scheme in HMCTS – details linked here; (not referenced but useful) Practice Guidance on the use of Intermediaries, Lay Advocates and Cognitive Assessments in the Family court from January 2025 (updated November 2025) – linked here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.