CHILDREN caught up in their parent’s marriage disputes will now have a voice thanks to two family lawyers in Dorset.
Sean McNally and Deborah Leask have become one of the first in the county to qualify as Direct Child Consultation mediators.
It means they will be able to meet with children as part of the mediation process and ensure that their views are heard.
Sean is Head of the Family Department at Ellis Jones Solicitors and Deborah is a partner in the Bournemouth-based law firm.
Both are qualified collaborative family lawyers and members of Resolution, the national organisation of family lawyers committed to non-confrontational divorce, separation and other family problems.
Sean, who is the current Chairman of Dorset Resolution, said: “Children are often caught in the middle when the parents decide to go down in the trenches and start to lob verbal grenades.
“It’s vital that their voice is heard and everything possible is done to minimise the trauma which can be caused by a marriage break-up.”
Deborah added: “Direct consultation with a child means that the child will be invited to talk face to face with the mediator separately and in complete confidentiality from anyone else including their parents. Their views will be fed back but only with their permission.
“There is no minimum age but six years is probably the very youngest age for a child to be involved in this process.”
Sean and Deborah qualified as Direct Child Consultation mediators after successfully completing a two-day assessment course organised by Resolution, including pre and post course assignments.
According to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics the number of divorces in England and Wales in 2010 was 119,589, an increase of 4.9 per cent on the previous year.
Sir Paul Coleridge, a senior High Court judge, recently launched a campaign to promote marriage and fight family breakdown.
He called on people to re-think the ‘recycling’ attitude to relationships which he believed has damaging consequences for the children caught up in marital disputes.
Giving children a voice: Sean McNally and Deborah Leask of Ellis Jones Solicitors.
