We spoke to Sally about being recognised by Legal 500, as well as the effect that Covid-19 has had on enquiries to the department and the impact she thinks the pandemic will have on families going forwards.
Rothera Bray’ Family department are delighted to have retained their tier 2 ranking in this year’s Legal 500 guide, with the team’s Associate Solicitor Sally Hartland recognised as a Rising Star for the second consecutive year.
The Legal 500 provides a yearly leading guide to law firms and solicitors in the UK. This year’s guide states that Rothera Bray’ Family department “displays a high level of expertise in dealing with financial settlements and private children issues” with the team described as “sensitive and attentive yet calm and considered under pressure”.
Associate Solicitor Sally Hartland has again been recognised as a Rising Star in the department by the guide. Legal 500 states that the aim of the Rising Star achievement which is awarded to only three solicitors within a region, is to highlight standout performers who are coming into their own and shine a spotlight on individuals within firms who are driving the profession forwards.
Sally, who qualified in 2003, predominantly works on public law care proceedings and represents parents, family members and children when Social Services are involved due to concerns that a child is suffering harm, but she also specialises in private law children matters including Child Arrangement Orders (ie contact and residence), Prohibitive Steps Orders, Specific Issue Orders and cases involving special guardianship. She also has experience of representing parents in cases when fact finding hearings are required due to concerns of domestic violence. After qualifying Sally worked in a variety of areas of family law and has specialised in private and public children matters since 2007. In 2010 she became a member of the Law Society’s Children Panel which enables her to represent children as well as family members
Sally said: “In the future I am looking to specialise more in representing children within both public law and private law matters, which you can only become eligible to do by being on the panel. This involves attending a three-day compulsory course, completing an application including case studies and attending an interview. You then have to apply for and pass a rigorous re-accreditation process every three years, so it is hard to get on the panel and not easy to stay on it, but only at this stage can you represent children.
“I’m really proud to have been recognised as a Rising Star by the Legal 500. I think it’s an achievement that a lot of fee earners aspire to, so to be recognised again for the second year running is really appreciated and indicative of my future aims to further represent children going forwards.”
Partner and Chairwoman Ann-Marie Bowman added “Sally is a dedicated and very conscientious member of our children team. She works incredibly hard and has a genuine desire to ensure her clients have the best possible outcome. I am delighted that her hard work has been recognised in this way yet again. It is very well deserved and I congratulate Sally for this great achievement.”
Impact of lockdown on family law services
Sally says the Covid-19 pandemic has also had a significant impact on the amount and type of work that she and the department are receiving and the ways they are able to assist clients due to social distancing.
She said: “Since lockdown started the department has been super busy, there has been no shortage of work coming in.
“During lockdown there was a lot of private children’s work, and parents querying contact during lockdown where the parents are separated. Since lockdown ended there has been a huge increase in public law cases.
“Because of social distancing, there have been no in-person hearings in court in the traditional sense, and a lot of hearings have also been adjourned. We have had to significantly adapt how we interact with clients and other parties, and this is often through a mix of telephone appointments or other remote methods such as Skype, Zoom or Google Meet. A limited number of hearings have taken place with the parents and their legal teams being present in court along with the Judge and the other parties involved attending and giving evidence when necessary via laptop. This is known as a ‘hybrid hearing’. The majority of hearings have taken place by phone or remotely whether it be via Skype or CVP (Court Virtual Platform), which is suitable for straightforward cases, but for more complex hearings such as considering removing children from their parents’ care there are lots of nuances missed by having the hearing take place remotely you can’t see the parent or the professional in person, the judge can’t see their body language when evidence is being heard, there may be delays on the screen…when you are talking about serious issues such as a child being removed from a parents care, then the parent should have the right to have the hearing in a court building and have the evidence tested in the traditional way before a Judge”
Sally believes the impact of the pandemic and lockdown will inevitably lead to more public care proceedings, as well as a backlog of cases and an increase in cases of domestic violence:
“I think it will be a combination of frustrations mounting during lockdown, as well as domestic violence that has been going on for months, with many children caught in the middle, which could be further magnified by a second lockdown. The fact that schools were shut for so long also means that many children would have gone relatively unchecked for months.”
Recent statistics certainly seem to confirm the thought that the pandemic is having a detrimental impact on relationships and families. According to a survey carried out by Women’s Aid earlier this year, 67.4 per cent of those experiencing abuse said it had worsened since the onset of Covid-19 and 76.1 per cent said they were having to spend more time with their abuser.
Our experienced Family Law Solicitors are on hand to help you. Call us on 03456 465 465 today or email: enquiries@rotherabray.co.uk.
