This week, family lawyers in and around London received notification from the President of the Family Division that has caused widespread concern. The London Financial Remedies Court has been told it is exceeding its allocated sitting days for divorce and financial remedy cases - set at just 13% of total court time by the Chancellor. The result? Immediate and significant cuts to court availability.

The consequences for clients with cases in London are deeply troubling:

• Hearings may be postponed or moved to different courts
• Longer hearings will be double listed, meaning they can be cancelled at very short notice
• New hearings will be scheduled even further into the future

For clients, this means uncertainty, delay, and financial loss. A cancelled hearing still incurs solicitor and barrister fees - often running into several thousands of pounds - with no compensation. And the wait for a final decision? Expect 18 months, perhaps even two years, from when your application is issued.

As the President himself acknowledged, the action plan to “recalibrate” hearings will cause “unwelcome difficulties”. 

This is not just a London issue. Our local judges have spoken candidly about the scale of the crisis: chronic understaffing, failing IT systems, and insufficient funding. Across the country, children are going months without seeing a parent because the courts simply cannot intervene sooner.

In this climate, the message must be clear: court must be a last resort. We must now fully embrace non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) as the default route for resolving family disputes. There are a range of options available:

• Mediation allows couples to work through issues with a neutral facilitator, often preserving relationships and reducing acrimony.
• Private FDRs replicate part of the court process but with greater flexibility and speed, often led by experienced barristers or retired judges.
• Early neutral evaluation provides a reality check on likely outcomes, helping parties settle before litigation escalates.
• Arbitration offers binding decisions with the benefit of confidentiality and control over timing.
• One Lawyer One Couple is a collaborative model where a single solicitor advises both parties, streamlining the process and reducing costs.

These options are not just faster - they are often more cost-effective, less adversarial, and better for families. Many family lawyers are trained in these methods and actively encourage clients to explore them wherever appropriate.

But we must also acknowledge the limits. NCDR is not suitable in every case - particularly where there is domestic abuse, coercive control, or where one-party refuses to engage. And for those who cannot afford private alternatives or are forced to represent themselves, the court is a safety net. Right now, that net is fraying. If we do not have a functioning, accessible family justice system, what happens next?

We may not have all the solutions, but we must raise awareness. We must push for investment in the courts and in accessible NCDR services. And we must support our clients in navigating this broken system with compassion, creativity, and clarity.