Private Lives – Chair of Resolution appointment
2 June 2020
At the end of March I should have been addressing a conference of family justice professionals having been appointed as the Chair of Resolution. However, the coronavirus intervened, the conference was postponed and given the ban on public gatherings, I remain Vice Chair. I will take up my new role following the rearranged Annual General Meeting on 24 June 2020.
Resolution is an organisation of almost 7,000 family justice professionals including solicitors, barristers, judges, social workers, court appointed experts and others who work within the family justice field. What sets Resolution members apart is their commitment to a Code of Practice that promotes non-confrontational practice, putting the interests of the family first. I am the first Legal Executive to take a position on the Executive Committee, rising to Vice Chair and then Chair. I feel extremely honoured to take up such a challenging role over the next two years.
COVID-19 has changed the way in which we deal with family law. Many of our courts are closed and many court staff are working remotely from home. More worrying are the challenges that families face as a result of the pandemic, and the Family Team have produced a number of articles that deal with the more common queries that have arisen on the Legal Updates pages of the Birketts website.
There has been a steady stream of enquiries from worried family members from the start of the outbreak regarding how their family might be impacted, with issues raised including everything from child care, to access to grandchildren to families with key workers. Families with key workers who might fi nd themselves exposed to the virus are placed in a difficult position every day and many have decided to live away from home rather than risk their family’s health. However, the virus also presents us with opportunities to remain a part of loved one’s lives through the use of technology.
It is especially important during these difficult times that family ties are maintained to benefit children. Contact between parents, grandparents and children can be maximised by embracing video technology to watch cartoons together or even to read bedtime stories to a child living in a different home. Given that the majority of children are being home schooled it may even be possible to divide up subject matters across the family, to draw on specific expertise – Mum might be able to help with science, Granny with maths or an uncle with history.
If you have any queries as to how COVID-19 is impacting on your particular family circumstances, please contact a member of the Birketts Family Team.
This article is from the spring 2020 issue of Private Lives, our newsletter covering the key legal and tax issues that individuals face. To download the latest issue, please visit the newsletter section of our website.
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Juliet Harvey
Services
The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at June 2020.