Conference hears lawyers do not place children first in legal battles

Family lawyers often prove discriminatory, unhelpful and deliberately awkward to fathers embroiled in divorce and custody battles, a conference has heard.

This stance ends up affecting children the worst – despite these professionals knowing the end result will be a fractured family unit.

Delegates at the Families Need Fathers Scotland (FNF) annual general meeting heard how fathers often felt hopelessness and frustration when dealing with lawyers who, they believe, were intent on winning legal arguments instead of putting children and families first.

Ian Maxwell, FNF Scotland general manager, said non-resident parents only wanted to do their best by their children but were being hampered from doing so.

He added: “They feel pain and distress at the barriers that are often casually placed in their way not only by former partners but also by professionals who should understand that most children do better when both parents are fully involved in supporting their development.

We are still distressed by the correspondence we are shown from solicitors who make entirely unhelpful personal comments

“We are still distressed by the correspondence we are shown from solicitors who make entirely unhelpful personal comments about the character of non-resident parents."

There were many examples, said Maxwell, where lawyers confused their obligation to represent the position of their client with character assassination of the other parent.

“Solicitors on both sides then have their valuable time wasted corresponding over trivial grievances that do not put the interests of the children first,” he told delegates.

“This kind of correspondence will never be referred to in court but over weeks and months it poisons and polarises relations between the parties who will have to find a way of co-operating long after the solicitors have closed the file.

“It has to stop.”

It comes as the Edinburgh-based charity revealed a record year in terms of requests for support for its services.

More than 1,200 individuals contacted the organisation's two part time staff by telephone or email during 2013-14 - more than 100 new contacts a month.

These include FNF Scotland's four local groups who meet monthly in Aberdeen, Stirling, Edinburgh and Glasgow at which members find moral support and share their experience of resolving difficulties.

In addition there has been an average of over 1,300 unique visitors to the FNF Scotland website per month, the conference held in Glasgow was told.

Maxwell said: “We are mainly contacted by fathers but also by grandparents, new partners, other family members and quite a few mothers.”

Nearly 4,000 copies of FNF Scotland's Guide to Representing Yourself in the Scottish Family Courts were downloaded in the last year.