Court Without a Lawyer Community Interest Company. Company no. 7407783
Derek, a client
“ Thank you so very much, you provided me with a great start in my fight for my littlens. I cannot thank you enough! They are so much happier now they have almost equal shared care from both me and their mother.”
A High Court judge:
"Mr Barry was granted right of audience, and represented the appellant extremely
well. He was articulate and well-
Andrew, a client
“ John, i cannot thank you enough for the work you have done for me and your enthusiasm and beliefs for the work you do is probably the only thing that made me carry on .”
SPMF
We are founder members of the Society of Professional McKenzie Friends Ltd. The Society
is a self-
On this link you can see the standards of conduct to which we are held to account by the Society.
Going to court about divorce or child contact?
It’s best not to go to court at all. These things should be resolved through agreement, but if that doesn’t work you don’t have to instruct a solicitor to represent you in Family Courts. You can do it yourself. Acting in person with us to assist as your McKenzie Friend will cost about 10% of what you would have paid a solicitor. It also means you keep control of the proceedings yourself, rather than handing over responsibility for the most important things in your life, your family and your home, to a stranger, a lawyer.
McKenzie Friends are recognised by courts, and we are permitted entry with you to what are otherwise closed proceedings in Family Courts.
We also draft documents for you: court applications, statements, letters to the other side’s solicitor, and most important of all we analyse the facts of the case, and advise you on how best to present it in court.
Who are we?
Everyone at Court Without a Lawyer has been through their own Family Court Proceedings, and we wish that the help we now offer to you had been available to us at the time. Our 2 lead practitioners, Ray Barry and John Ison, hold degrees and each has assisted in more than 500 cases, attending court frequently as a McKenzie Friend.
Help is available
Our first advice is don’t break up the Family. Keep it together. But if break -
Tell us the facts, and we will advise how we think you will best be able to approach your situation. Wherever possible, we will help you avoid going to court at all, whether this is through formal mediation or just advising you how you can reach agreement yourself.
What we will do for you
As much or as little as you want us to. We are happy for you to just run things past us from time to time, or you may want us to help you with paperwork, and possibly attend court as well, as your McKenzie Friend. These are the things we are most commonly asked to help with:
Draft a C100 court application form for a contact or residence order concerning children
Help you respond to CAFCASS reports about your children,
Attend court as a McKenzie Friend
File a divorce petition or reply to one.
Complete a Form E affidavit in Financial Proceedings.
