top of page
Comment & opinion
Jason Hadden MBE's commentary on family justice, the courts, litigants in person and the legal profession.
A view
A new Texas law makes drunk drivers who kill a parent pay child support. Could something similar work in the UK?
Oct 17, 20231 min read
More thoughts
Why first hearings heard only by legal advisers can leave children without contact with a parent for months.
Oct 16, 20231 min read
Unveiling the Ethical Questions of Artificial Intelligence
Bias, privacy, accountability and jobs: the ethical dilemmas raised by the rise of AI.
Oct 13, 20233 min read
Thoughts
Looking at a case with fresh eyes: how delay and missteps in the court process can keep a child from a parent for years.
Oct 10, 20231 min read
Public Access and Child disputes
Why more parents in private law children disputes are instructing a barrister directly.
Jul 9, 20183 min read
Grandparents, the law and spending time with their grandchildren
Why grandparents must ask the court's permission to apply for time with their grandchildren.
Apr 25, 20184 min read
Who is best to determine the welfare of a child? Parents or the Court?
The Charlie Gard case and the hardest question in family law: who decides what is best for a child?
Jun 14, 20173 min read
A judgment of words and numbers
Why the Court of Appeal's brief judgment in BS (Congo) was so widely welcomed.
Feb 16, 20172 min read
Do litigants in person have an unfair advantage?
The rise in litigants in person after legal aid cuts, and whether they get an unfair advantage in court.
Feb 5, 20173 min read
The deprivation of a child's liberty
When the court can make a secure accommodation order depriving a child of their liberty.
Jan 28, 20174 min read
Non molestation orders shouldn't last forever
The President's revised guidance on how long without-notice non-molestation orders should last.
Jan 21, 20176 min read
The Red Book, the Judiciary and the issue with non-molestation orders
Mr Justice Mostyn's challenge to the Red Book's guidance on non-molestation orders.
Nov 11, 20166 min read
Does a McKenzie Friend have many real friends in the legal profession?
With more people unrepresented, a look at McKenzie Friends and how the profession views them.
Oct 28, 20165 min read
Re B: A Fair Trial for Litigants in Person in the Family Court
Re B and how the family court should keep hearings fair when parties are unrepresented.
Oct 8, 20165 min read
Pre-nuptial love
Why family lawyers look at weddings differently, and a take on pre-nuptial agreements.
Sep 29, 20164 min read
Are more children about to give evidence in care proceedings?
Children often give evidence in criminal cases, so why so rarely in the family court?
Sep 27, 20163 min read
Plain English: A Judge’s journey into the unknown
Mr Justice Peter Jackson's plain English judgment in Lancashire CC v M, and why it was welcomed.
Sep 19, 20162 min read
A question of bias: from the children's guardian?
What happens when parents in care cases allege that the children's guardian is biased against them.
Sep 14, 20163 min read
Back to basics - from A to J
The President of the Family Division's reminder that threshold documents must be drafted properly.
Jul 15, 20163 min read
TOIL
Double, double TOIL and trouble: does time off in lieu really help lawyers' work-life balance?
Jun 16, 20162 min read
bottom of page