Director David Allison Featured in Forbes

We are delighted that FLiP Director David Allison has featured in an article by Forbes Magazine “Will Mediation and Private Judges End The Uncivility of In-Court Family Law Litigation Post COVID?” (28/01/2021). David comments on the way in which the family court system in England has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with an increase in the use of mediation, private judging (private FDRs), Early Neutral Evaluation (ENA) and Arbitration.

Quotes from David include: “The Family Court in England was under pressure before the pandemic and the impact of Covid on some courts has been catastrophic for families. The court system has adapted to virtual hearings considerably better than most of us anticipated but this has not prevented significant delays and cancelled hearings…. Understandably therefore people are trying to find ways to resolve their issues outside of court. This has led to an increase in mediation which, despite initial misgivings is working pretty well virtually. As mediation is about so much more than finding a solution this has to be positive for families.”

David goes on to comment on the role of private judging (FDRs) stating: “We have also seen an increase in private judging. This principally takes two forms both of which were taking place before the pandemic but are increasing since. These are the private settlement hearings known as private FDR’s (Financial Dispute Resolution) in money cases and ENA (Early Neutral Evaluation) in children cases and arbitration. Private FDRs and ENAs effectively replace the settlement/mediation stage of the court process with the court being the final arbiter if agreement is not reached. Arbitration replaces the decision-making process of the court and enables that process to be designed by the parties and of course take place considerably more quickly. “

The full article published in Forbes can be found here.