I am engaged in a custody battle with my ex-partner, who obtained a non-molestation order and a child arrangements order against me based on unfounded allegations. I successfully contested the non-molestation order by disproving these allegations. Yet, the custody dispute is ongoing, awaiting the completion of a revised Section 8 report after the initial one was found to be biased.
In the interim, my ex's legal team filed a C2 application accusing me of violating the court order, a claim that was dismissed at a later hearing. Following this, I received a draft court order from a trainee solicitor at Duncan Lewis, which confusingly included a CC to a solicitor at TV Edwards, blurring the lines of legal representation.
I was then told by the trainee solicitor who is still at Duncan Lewis, that herself and the senior solicitor, previously who previously worked with Duncan Lewis, are now working pro bono for my ex. Despite efforts to seek clarification and address the child arrangements issues, I have received no response from the trainee at Duncan Lewis. I also discovered a potential conflict of interest involving my ex's sister, who works for CAFCASS and has connections with the now TV Edwards solicitor.
As the final hearing approaches on June 10, I need advice on managing this intricate legal matter.
hi,
I suggest you contact Cafcass to make them aware about conflict of interest. in their guidelines it states:
3.1. 2 A practitioner must declare any conflict of interest to the manager immediately when the practitioner becomes aware of it. If a conflict of interest arises during a case, the practitioner must declare it not only to the court but also to the manager.
https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/Conflict-of-Interests-Policy-1.pdf
for solicitors, you could contact them about it. Can also make court aware at next hearing.
@bill337 Thank you very much. Regarding the incident where the trainee solicitor CC'd my details to the lead solicitor, who used to work at Duncan Lewis and is now with TV Edwards, could this be a violation of the Data Protection Act? I reached out to TV Edwards and was informed that no one at their firm is handling the case. Similarly, Duncan Lewis confirmed that the lead solicitor no longer works with them. Moreover, to my knowledge, she is accessing legal aid through Duncan Lewis, and as I previously mentioned, this solicitor is friends with her sister who is employed by CAFCASS.