Best Practice: Family law tips by Registrars for Practitioners

Family lawyers are highly skilled professionals who must possess an in-depth knowledge of the law, court processes, the complexity and impact of family violence in all its guises, child development and safety needs, as well as keen advocacy skills, sophisticated negotiation and mediation skills. But there's more to it than that. In this episode, Senior Judicial Registrar and Executive Director National Registrar Operations and Practice Anne-Marie Rice speaks with Justice Altobelli, a judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) about his experiences in family law, both on and off the bench.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a model that is internationally unique, Registrars of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia work alongside highly skilled experts in children’s best interests. Over 100 Court Child Experts (CCEs) work closely with Registrars in the provision of key early reports identifying risks and the child’s experience of their parents’ conflict. Those reports are invaluable resources for Registrars in case management, interim determinations and dispute resolution. To help practitioners to understand and take advantage of this interdisciplinary model, with Registrars and CCEs working in collaboration to help parents resolve parenting disputes, Senior Judicial Registrar and Executive Director National Registrar Operations and Practice Anne-Marie Rice is joined by a Senior Judicial Registrar and a Senior Court Child Expert.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dispute resolution is not a single event. It’s a process that begins as soon as a Registrar of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia first engages with a matter. It’s a process that has begun before the parties even come to the court. Resolutionists are those expert lawyers who look for ways to promote movement - even of the smallest kind - towards closure. They are optimists who remain focused on the potential for resolution even when the circumstances are challenging. The FCFCOA is fortunate to have so many dedicated and passionate resolutionists in the Registrar ranks. In this episode, Senior Judicial Registrar and Executive Director National Registrar Operations and Practice Anne-Marie Rice is joined by three such Registrars to explore the challenges and opportunities of this powerful work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The overwhelming majority of matters before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia do not proceed to trial, or are resolved by agreement with the assistance of Registrars. Many parties to proceedings will not see a Judge and appearances before Registrars will be their only experience of the courts. This is because of the carefully designed case management pathway managed and implemented by Registrars. Effective case management focuses on identifying barriers to resolution and addressing them - whether that be through an interim hearing, expert report or dispute resolution conference, as quickly and efficiently as possible. Case management involves more than just identifying the legal issues, and in this episode Senior Judicial Registrar and Executive Director National Registrar Operations and Practice Anne-Marie Rice is joined by two Registrars who explain what practitioners can do to help move their matters to closure and what should be avoided. Find out more about the Lighthouse program here. Find out more about the case management pathway and lists mentioned in this episode, including the Evatt list, here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A very significant proportion of the matters before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia involve allegations of family violence and other risk factors including child abuse, drug and alcohol misuse and mental health which compromises the safety of a child. The Courts provide a number of specialist lists and case management approaches designed to identify and respond to allegations of risk. Examples of these innovations include the Magellan list, which carefully case manages complex matters including those involving child sexual abuse or possession of child sexual exploitation material, the Evatt list, which offers a careful and thoughtful approach to cases involving multiple complex risk factors and Priority Property Pools cases, which allow for the identification and close case management of financial cases at risk of non-compliance or disproportionate costs caused by a party’s attempts to delay. The opportunities and advantages of these lists are explained by two of our experienced Registrars in this discussion, led by Senior Judicial Registrar and Executive Director National Registrar Operations and Practice Anne-Marie Rice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.