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17 April 2026 / Caroline Bowden
Issue: 8157 / Categories: Features , Family , Child law , Divorce
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Hearing children’s voices

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Caroline Bowden on a new report that calls for a rethink of family law practice
  • According to a new report, families and practitioners believe the system must change to better protect children and reduce the harmful effects of parental conflict.

A major new report on the future of family law practice has just been published. It calls for a fundamental shift in how professionals support families going through separation, placing children’s welfare firmly at the centre of the process and moving away from avoidable adversarial approaches that can intensify conflict.

Launched by the Family Solutions Group at Kingsley Napley on 12 March, ‘Putting children first: the evolving role of the family law professional’ brings together the results of a wide-ranging consultation with nearly 550 professionals and parents, alongside interviews with almost 50 central figures working across the family justice and support sectors. The key authors, Charlotte Bradley and Edward Cooke, are both solicitors with many years’ experience of working within the family law field, who drew together an experienced

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