To read the article: LINK

The Solicitors Regulation Authority have released a report on the use of artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT in the legal service. For those of us who have English as a second language, dyslexia, or a limited ability to transcribe their thoughts, or indeed just wish to produce wording more quickly, at first glance an app that will do it for you looks like gold dust. There are, as always, caveats.  

The app will use machine learning and huge amounts of data to predict, summarise and generate what you ask for. It does not mind read, it does not select only accurate data, and it provides no guarantees. As the report states, all computers can make mistakes and language models, such as ChatGPT, are more prone to this.

There currently exist apps that limit the data they use to tried and tested sources. This gives a greater likelihood of the outcome being accurate and meaningful. Some of these apps are used by law firms to identify contradictions in evidence or submissions or even identify relevant case references however the software is not foolproof. Whilst AI will clearly increasingly be used in the creation of documents, for now we recommend that you thoroughly check the output of AI generated documents, especially any court statements, for factual accuracy. This applies also to statements from solicitors or from the other parent which may be increasingly AI generated. 

The Family Lawyer summarises the report (LINK), while the Law Gazette provides an interesting overview (LINK). 

The Mankind Initiative November Newsletter landed on our desk this month (LINK). FNF work closely with Mankind who have been supporting male victims of domestic violence for 22 years. They have a very supportive helpline with some amazing helpline workers, a comprehensive website with survivor stories, statistics and news and campaign updates.

It is a well-researched fact that men in abusive relationships are often unaware of their situation until they have escaped. Mankind understands this and provide an information, support and signposting service to men suffering from domestic abuse from their current or former wife, partner (including same-sex partner) or husband. This can range from physical violence or object throwing to abuse such as constant bullying or insults.

Check out their website - ManKind Initiative - Supporting Male Victims of Domestic Abuse (LINK)

A donation to Families Need Fathers- because both parents matter? LINK TO DONATIONS

Many of us will find letters and inboxes full of charity appeals at this time of year. But non from FNF-BPM except for this one. 

Why? It’s simple we simply don't have the capacity to organise a big operation.  

We have one member of staff, and all the rest of us are volunteers. And most of us spend most of our time giving personal support to others with their own court and personal problems. That is the most important part of our service. 

A low estimate for how much a family court case will cost you, including solicitor barrister, contact centre, court fees etc is £15k. Joining FNF for a year will cost you less than £3 a month and could save, or may have already saved you a good proportion of that. 

So please help us on that upward slope…. Join us here: Families Need Fathers - Membership (beaconforms.com) LINK

Donate here Families Need Fathers - Donate to Families Need Fathers (beaconforms.com) LINK

For leaving a gift in your will, please read here - Families Need Fathers - Leave a Legacy (fnf.org.uk) LINK

And of course, recruit new members. 

Your children will thank you.  

MATCHmothers website's LINK

Please also sign a petition supported by MATCHmothers on parental alienation (LINK). It’s important to get this recognised as not only a father on mother accusation.

MATCHmothers provides personal support for mothers facing divorce and family breakdown, parental alienation, false allegations of harm, child abductions, SGO's, public law proceedings, private law proceedings just like FNF. We know when fathers get control of their children, they can treat their children’s right to a relationship with their mother no better than some mothers do with the father. If such cases are brought to us, we support the mother, to re-establish shared relationship with her children. But mothers need support from other mothers too. That’s where MATCHmothers comes in. They often suffer more stigma in these situations, as it more likely to be thought that they must have done something wrong, or they are failures. 

A new study tracking 8500 families find one in 14 children are cared for by their fathers reports the  Independent. The full report can be found here (LINK) 

New Homeless figures released this month show homeless children in temporary accommodation are at a record high say the BBC (LINK). Homeless charity CRISIS describes homelessness in part due to separation or divorce (LINK). 

Melanie Gill was the psychologist appointed by CAFCASS to a recent case which on appeal prompted Sir Andrew McFarlane to review the appointment of experts in family court cases. Here she presents a comprehensive review of how to nip False Allegations in the bud (LINK) 

A useful compendium of articles about managing children’s behaviour from experts in the US. Empowering Parents (LINK).

Dr Childress, the grandfather of Parental Alienation research, discusses Spousal Abuse in the family courts (LINK).