Unrepentant after being severely criticised by Lord Justice Wall last week for his conduct while acting as a McKenzie Friend, Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming is pursuing his campaign to reform the family justice system by releasing a single Bring The Sunshine In, calling for more openness in the family courts. Warning: I've listened to a clip from the song, and Perry Como he ain't. Proceeds from the sale of the song (who exactly is going to buy it?) will go to the Angela Cannings Foundation.

[Thanks to Family Law NewsWatch for this story.]

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Shared residence is an issue that is becoming more and more important, and which can cause considerable confusion. I have therefore been waiting for a report of Re K (Shared Residence Order), the judgment of which was given on the 4th April. I have now seen a short report (citation: [2008] All ER (D) 55 (Apr)), and I think it is of interest, particularly regarding the relationship between shared residence and contact.

Briefly, the facts were that the child spent approximately 60% of his time with the mother and 40% with the father. The father applied for this to be increased to 50%, and sought a shared residence order. The district judge found that the slight benefit to the child of the increase in contact with his father was outweighed by the disruption to a regime that seemed to be working well, and therefore refused to increase the contact. He then went on to separately consider the issue of shared residence, and refused to make the order, after referring to the additional contact being 'required' to lead to a shared residence order. The father appealed unsuccessfully to a circuit judge, and then appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal found that the district judge should have heard both issues together, ruling first on the appropriate division of time, and then whether that division should be expressed in terms of a shared residence order or a contact order. The district judge's decision not to increase the contact was within his discretion, and therefore the contact would not be increased. However, he had erred in treating that issue and the question of a shared residence order as standing or falling together. A shared residence order was appropriate, and would therefore be made. The mother had argued that the father would use a shared residence order to interfere with her role in relation to the child, but no such 'malign intent' on the part of the father had been established.

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Here's an interesting local service that I've just become aware of: Medway Positive Parenting Network is a 'local service directory for children and families' that 'enables parents, carers and professionals to access a wide range of support services and information for parents and families in the Medway area, 24 hours a day'. The site includes information on divorce and separation and details of many local agencies including CAB, Family Mediation Service, N.S.P.C.C. and Relate. An extremely valuable resource, although I'm not sure whether a similar service is available elsewhere.

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I came across a story from America yesterday that suggests that the divorce rate could be dropping because of the slowdown (halting?) of the property market. I've not yet seen any direct evidence of this over here, but it is of course the case that in many divorces the matrimonial home has to be sold, and in a lot of those cases, the parties have no real option but to remain in the property until the sale takes place. This could be causing enormous hardship, especially where one of the parties is suffering physical or emotional abuse.

Update: Now I have come across evidence of this problem over here: "Clients having gone through the heartbreak of divorce and having reached a financial settlement find that they still cannot move on because failure to sell the house means they can't implement their divorce agreement" - see this article in The Times.

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[rant mode on] I had intended not to mention the McCartney/Mills divorce again here, but I feel I have to post once more to correct numerous misleading reports that have been published regarding the pronouncement of the decree nisi today. Contrary to what they state (or indicate), the decree nisi does not finalise the divorce. The divorce will not be finalised until the court makes the decree absolute. [/rant mode off]

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It was a divorce lawyer's nightmare: 650 couples with 43,000 years' experience of marriage between them. They attended mass at the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral yesterday to celebrate the institution of marriage, but also to 'warn of the dangers of letting it go'. The event was organised by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, a man whose personal experience of marriage is, of course, nil.

The Cardinal spoke of the effects of marriage breakdown on society and the importance therefore of couples staying together. Surely, however, the simple fact is that marriage is no longer viewed by many as 'for ever', so there is no point in exhorting couples to 'work at it'. I'm also not persuaded that changes in legislation are to blame for 'undermining family life', as the Church is suggesting - laws generally only react to what has already happened. Society itself has changed, and we need to learn to live with it, rather than try to turn back the clock.

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Last week's diary:

Tuesday: Back to work, grateful that the bank holiday weekend is over. A quiet day, although a secretary who works in our basement did think she heard an animal moving inside the blocked chimney in her room.

Wednesday: Appeared in the Magistrates' Court - a rare occurrence for me since I stopped doing legal aid work. Likely to occur more frequently though, with the County Court easing its list by transferring matters to the Magistrates' Court, as happened in this case. Got back from court and the secretary reported that she could still hear something moving in the chimney, so I helped to open it up. No sign of life inside.

Thursday: Had a presentation from a company that produces videos for clients to watch while waiting in reception - you know, like you get at post offices and banks. Will do wonders for business, apparently. We shall see whether the firm is convinced. Still no sign of life inside the chimney, although the secretary swears she can hear a bird in there.

Friday: Another quiet day. The secretary still hears sounds from the chimney, and a colleague opens it up. Nip outside for a fag at lunchtime. Hear someone trying to open a window. Look round to see who it is - a pigeon! A bit sooty, but none the worse for falling down a 50-foot chimney, and even for spending three days in a solicitors' office. Thankfully, now flown away, and hopefully won't be back to sue the firm for false imprisonment, or in this case, 'doing bird'.

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The inquest into the death of Mark Saunders was told this morning that he was shot at least five times, with more than one type of bullet.

Comparisons will inevitably be made with the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, but there is of course one essential difference: de Menezes was unarmed. That said, let's hope the full facts surrounding the shooting come out this time.

The inquest was adjourned for four months.

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As a tribute to the late Miles Kington, The Independent has been reproducing some of his writing. With its relevance to the subject of this blog, this column, republished today, amused me.

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I've just heard that the man shot dead in the Chelsea siege last night was family law barrister Mark Saunders of Queen Elizabeth Building chambers (their website is currently unavailable). I'm not going to discuss the circumstances surrounding the incident here (see this story in The Telegraph), and I'm certainly not going to suggest that it was any more awful because the deceased was a barrister, but it is a tragedy not just for the family but also for the profession that such a promising career has been brought to an end in such an appalling way.

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