This book is about those who represent themselves as Litigants in Person in the family justice system. It calls for a refocusing of the debate about the historical challenges associated with Litigants in Person as well as the role they should play within the family justice system in England and Wales.Drawing together interviews with Litigants in Person and decades of research into self-representation from across multiple jurisdictions, this book provides an account of the family justice system through the eyes of its users. It employs an innovative socio-legal framework comprising feminist theory, a Bourdieusian theory of class, vulnerability theory, and actor-network theory to explore the journey that Litigants in Person take through the legal, cultural and social context of the family court.It provides fresh insight into the diverse challenges that people face within this process and how these relate to wider pressures within the family justice system. It argues that there are important lessons to be learned from Litigants in Person. By understanding how and why people come to the point of self-representing, and the kinds of experiences they have when they do, the book advocates the importance of forging a more positive and effective relationship between Litigants in Person and the family justice system.

Includes interviews with Litigants in Person after LASPO

1. IntroductionI. Litigants in Person and the Family Justice SystemII. The Family Justice LandscapeIII. Where Next for Family Justice?IV. Learning from LIPsV. Chapter Outline2. The Changing Landscape of Family JusticeI. Neoliberalism and the Family Justice SystemII. Family Justice at Breaking Point?III. Domestic Abuse and Family JusticeIV. COVID-19 and Family JusticeV. A Turning Point for Family Justice3. Conceptualising Litigants in PersonI. Tensions in Family Justice ResearchII. Marginalised PerspectivesIII. Inequality, Disadvantage, and DifferenceIV. The State and the Family Justice SystemV. Material Manifestations of DisadvantageVI. A Theoretical and Empirical Enquiry4. Navigating the Family Justice SystemI. Procedural RequirementsII. Legal NormsIII. Physical Environments, Social Hierarchies and Cultural ExpectationsIV. The Full-Representation Model5. Contributing to the Family Court ProcessI. Speaking in CourtII. Using Paperwork to CommunicateIII. Asking and Answering QuestionsIV. Being Heard within the Family Court ProcessV. Changing the Conversation6. Finding a Role in the Family Justice SystemI. Relationships with JudgesII. Relationships with Opposing LawyersIII. Relationships with Other LIPsIV. Finding a Role7. Perceptions of Family JusticeI. The Expectation-Experience DisconnectII. Understanding Decisions and OutcomesIII. A Cycle of ExclusionIV. Family Justice Journeys8. ConclusionI. Litigants in Person and the Family Justice SystemII. LASPO: The End of Family Justice?III. How to Break a Cycle of Exclusion