It is not often we promote a book but Lucy Reed’s ‘Family Courts without a Lawyer’; A handbook for Litigants in Person’ is one. It has become such an acknowledged reference it’s difficult to imagine doing without it. The third edition was published in July 2022 and remains right up to date. 

Clearly organised with a 9-page index, a good ‘jargon buster’, complemented with a comprehensive website with useful clips explaining basics, including what to expect in court, and including some excellent videos. Something to ease the fears of people in court for the first time and often in straight panic. Highly recommended. 

She is also Chair of the ‘Transparency Project’ (LINK), an attempt to make family court proceedings more understandable. A brave attempt at the seemingly impossible. The most recent guide that we know of is about the handling of domestic violence. It sets out what ought to happen and maybe does when a barrister of her calibre is there, but unfortunately not what often actually happens, especially in the lower courts. 

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