I’ve been doing a few strategy sessions lately, for clients who are involved in a Family Court case that looks like it is going to trial, so I thought I’d give you an insight in to what one of these sessions might look like. 

Preparing for the session

First of all, to make these sessions really valuable, I always ask for the background documents. In one case that meant all the trial documents that has already been filed, in another, the previous Court orders and mediation proposals that had been exchanged before the mediation process had failed. 

This gives me a bit of insight in to what has been going on in the case, and also allows me to look at the case from the perspective of the Court, by looking at what the Court has already seen, and what they don’t yet know. 

In the session

In the session, we do a couple of important things: 

 Set the Scene 

I always try to map out the background of the case – answer the question of how you got from having a relationship with someone to going to Court against them. This is usually a story with a few twists and turns, but going through it an drawing it on a whiteboard together helps me understand the facts, and helps you, the client, start thinking about your case as a “case”. 

What I mean is that until you are in session with me, you’ve been thinking about the things that have been happening to you as your life – which of course it is! But when it comes to preparing for a trial, you need to start thinking of your life as a story that you tell the Court, a way of explaining to the judge who will be making a decision how things have turned out the way they have, and why they should now change it/keep it the same. 

Work out what you want

Throughout your case, your situation has probably changed in many ways and you may have changed your views about important things like how much time the children should spend with the other party, or whether you can work with them to make decisions. At the point where you are preparing for a trial, you need to think seriously and make a decision about what kind of final outcome you want. This needs to be clear because the evidence you will bring needs to be relevant to the orders you want. For example, there is no point telling the Court how much you disapprove of the other party’s parenting if you are proposing to share parental responsibility and care of the children with them! 

Build the Framework

The next thing to do is to talk about the framework that the decision-maker will be using to analyse your case. What will the judge be looking for in your evidence to help them make a decision? What will you need to tell them to make it easy for them to make a decision in your favour? 

Make a plan

Once we’ve been through this process, we can start to see where any gaps in the evidence might be. The best way to fill them is to make sure everything relevant is included in your affidavit. That can be backed up by affidavits from others, Notices to Admit, subpoenas to organisations etc. Even if you have already filed your affidavits there are tools available to help make sure everything you need the judge to know  is in front of them for your trial. 

After the Session 

Some people only come in for one session, some people come back for more. No matter what whether you see us again, at the end of your session you will have a clear plan on how to prepare for the next steps in your case.