
How you and your family lawyer collaborate with one another can make a significant
difference in finding the solutions you need regarding your family law matter. To help
demonstrate what good collaboration can look like from both sides, CFLS paralegal
Georgina Robertson shares one of her earlier experiences working with a client and
explains how collaboration helped determine a good client outcome.
When I joined CFLS, we had a client who had already worked with our team previously in
circumstances where she was managing parenting arrangements for her child through Court
orders with her former partner. During the relationship, she had been subject to coercive and
controlling behaviour which contributed to ongoing parenting difficulties even after final orders
were made, as the ex-partner was continuing to control our client through their child.
She came back to us seeking our urgent assistance on a number of issues, namely that the
father was over holding the child on baseless allegations in an attempt to intimidate her. From
this, our client instructed us to take urgent Court action. On the back of our application to the
Court for the child to be returned, we were able to raise other urgent issues for our client
including international travel, a GP and psychologist for the child, and enrolment in primary
School.
I ensured things progressed in a timely manner by drafting the Court documents and liaising
with the client and Susan (CFLS’ founder and FDR Specialist) about any amendments required,
following up on evidence with Child Protection and Victoria Police to support her case, and
compiling the brief to the barrister. We were able to put forward a very clear cut case on behalf
of our client, and as a result, the Court ruled in her favour.
A key factor in the success of this case was the collaborative and trusting relationship that developed between CFLS, our client and the barrister.
This included how Susan built a strong rapport with our client through listening to her
perspective and challenging circumstances, which allowed her to feel heard and understood. In
turn, Susan was able to offer strong advice about the most important issues in her case and
what was likely to happen when we went to Court. This set our client up to understand her
options and participate in decision making, giving her a way forward and reassurance that the
child’s best interests were being prioritised.
Our client also responded promptly to what we asked of her by doing things such as typing a
summary of events based on her diary entries and providing supporting evidence such as
emails and text messages. This assisted us greatly in understanding the timeline of events and
was integral information that strengthened the case. I spoke regularly with her when she
needed to take down key details for Court documents, discuss any latest developments, or
go over any concerns she had.
When we checked in regularly as a team, the barrister we worked with was able to
provide our client with further reassurance that we were taking the best course of action
and this gave her confidence that she was in the best position possible to succeed.
As a result, we were able to be thorough in our approach and achieved a great outcome for
our client. Each option could be ‘reality tested’ against practical factors like travel, cost, and time to tailor a solution that will work long term for the client and prevent her from ending up with an agreement that did not fit in with her lifestyle or needs.
The more thorough the instructions from the client, the better prepared the lawyer can be.
If you are someone who is beginning their family law journey with a lawyer, something I would recommend that can help your family is to keep a diary or draft a chronology of significant events from the commencement of the relationship to now, including details about any effects that separation or events following it had on your child/ren. This will help your lawyer understand what pathways might suit you and your family best in the long run. It will also foster the beginnings of good collaboration between them and yourself.
If you are seeking family law advice, support or simply want to explore your options,
please do not hesitate to contact Creative Family Law Solutions to connect and discuss
your matter further.