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The number of people unable to afford court representation is on the rise.
The number of people unable to afford court representation is on the rise. Photograph: Alamy
The number of people unable to afford court representation is on the rise. Photograph: Alamy

Legal aid cuts add to strain on divorcees

This article is more than 8 years old

Nine out of 10 people forced to represent themselves in family court reported a negative impact, says Citizens Advice

Nine out of 10 people who have gone through the family courts, under new rules that heavily restrict access to legal aid, suffer strain in their mental and physical health, working lives and finances, according to a report by Citizens Advice due out this week.

It adds that the system is not set up to deal with “litigants in person”, people who represent themselves in court proceedings, primarily because they cannot afford a lawyer.

“The demands of going to court without legal representation can put people’s jobs and health at risk,” said Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice.

“For people representing themselves in the family courts, whether in a divorce case or to keep the legal right to see their children, the workload can be unmanageable. In extreme cases people are quitting their jobs so they have the time to do research before going to court.”

The number of people going to court without a lawyer has been rising since access to legal aid was cut severely in 2013. Poorer people and those with children are more heavily represented in those litigating in person than any other group.

There has been a 30% rise in cases where neither party has access to legal help and a 22% rise in such cases involving children. Seven in 10 people report not going to the courts at all, leaving their issues unresolved.

Of those who chose to be litigants in person, 90% reported a negative impact on their everyday lives.

In January the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, delivered a warning about the legal aid situation in England and Wales. “Our system of justice has become unaffordable to most,” he said. “In consequence, there has been a considerable increase of litigants in person for whom our current court system is not really designed.”

London architect Anna would agree. She has endured a bruising divorce case during which she could not afford a barrister – she was paying the mortgage on the family home – but her former husband could.

“I lost a lot, not knowing how the law worked, how the court worked, what the language should be, how to even talk to the judge,” she said. “It is so frightening from the moment you walk in the door.”

She continued: “I was told off by [one judge], I felt so humiliated. I hadn’t realised earlier paperwork was not admissible because my ex-husband’s lawyers had written ‘without prejudice’ on it. I lost.

“I couldn’t get justice because I couldn’t understand the justice system. My girls suffered, I suffered and then I was accused of being emotionally unstable. It impacted and still does on every single aspect of my life.”

Citizens Advice and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP have developed a free online tool, called CourtNav, which gives people access to a lawyer when submitting a divorce petition.

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