Communication in family court: financial remedy proceedings from the perspective of litigants in person

Abstract

The article presents a rationale for communicative, conceptual, cognitive and procedural challenges experienced by litigants in person in financial remedy proceedings. The article also explores oscillation between written and spoken legal genres and narrative development strategies which litigants in person have to use throughout different stages (from the early stages of starting proceedings, filling in court forms and providing documentation, through the negotiation process to interaction in court). While legal professionals express themselves in paradigmatic legal mode influenced by legal acts and legislation, litigants in person tend to express themselves in narrative mode similar to everyday storytelling. The objective is to investigate obstacles litigants in person experience during the process originally designed by legal professionals for legal professionals. The article evaluates different options for empowering lay people involved in legal proceedings and argues for the need to provide more specific support for different stages of family proceedings.

Keywords:

• Litigants in person
• communication
• financial remedy proceedings
• legal-lay discourse
• communicative, cognitive, conceptual and procedural challenges

Acknowledgements

The research was funded by the European Commission, Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship for Career Development, proposal number 329925 under the call FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF, Centre for Forensic Linguistics, Aston University.

Notes

1. The author is fully aware of the fact that, if reported to the SRA, both solicitors could have been suspended or at least reprimanded. In the circumstances of the given case though, it was extremely important to keep a working relationship with the solicitor firm. The author felt that agitating the situation further would not help the family who were going through fully contested proceedings related to divorce, children arrangements, and financial remedy.