Eleanor Hopwood

Here, family Solicitor and Resolution member, Eleanor Hopwood, looks at the new code of practice and discusses the changes.

Prior to the 1980s, family solicitors approached family matters in the same way as any other legal disputes and would threaten litigation without any thought for the effect such conduct had on the family as a whole, particularly the children. This approach was obviously unsuitable and led to a dissatisfied and forward-thinking group of solicitors starting the Solicitors’ Family Law Association, which became Resolution and now has 6500 members.

Since 2007 Resolution members have adhered to the following code of practice, requiring us to:

• Conduct matters in a constructive and non-confrontational way.
• Avoid the use of inflammatory language, both written and spoken.
• Retain professional objectivity and respect for everyone involved.
• Take into account the long term consequences of actions and communications as well as the short term implications.
• Encourage clients to put the best interests of the children first.
• Emphasise to clients the importance of being open and honest in all dealings.
• Make clients aware of the benefits of behaving in a civilised way.
• Keep financial and children’s issues separate.
• Ensure that consideration is given to balancing the benefits of any steps taken against the likely costs – financial or emotional.

Resolution’s code of practice has now been overhauled to “reflect the changing family justice environment” and the new code builds on the principals of the previous one.

The new code requires us to:

• Reduce or manage any conflict and confrontation; for example, by not using inflammatory language.
• Support and encourage families to put the best interests of any children first.
• Act with honesty, integrity and objectivity.
• Help clients understand and manage the potential long-term financial and emotional consequences of decisions.
• Listen to and treat everyone with respect and without judgment.
• Use our experience and knowledge to guide clients through the options available to them.
• Continually develop our knowledge and skills.
• Use the Resolution guides to good practice in our day-to-day work.
• Work with other Resolution members to uphold this code and ensure it is at the heart of everything we do.

The code sets out reasons why you should choose a Resolution member, saying:

Resolution members follow a code of practice that promotes a constructive approach to family issues and considers the needs of the whole family, in particular the best interests of children. This means:

• Listening to you, being honest with you and treating you with respect.
• Explaining all the options and giving you confidence to make the right decisions.
• Helping you focus on what’s important in the long-term.
• Helping you balance financial and emotional costs with what you want to achieve.
• Working with others to find the right approach and the best solutions for you.
• Managing stress in what can be an already stressful situation.

There are obviously some recurring themes and the ethos remains the same, but the new code is more comprehensive. As members of Resolution, promotion of the code will continue to influence the way we conduct family cases in our day to day practice.

You can find out more about our family law services on our web pages.