Must D.A.S.H.
The BBC ran a story this week wherein MP Jess Phillips complains that the DASH risk assessment has 'obvious problems' and 'doesn't work'. From a quick read the first impression is that the tool itself is deficient, but that isn't the whole story. The piece also acknowledges that the problem is not so much the tool as the worker: "Any risk assessment tool is only as good as the person who is using it," she said, adding that practitioners needed to be trained to understand that risk was dynamic. People were killed even when deemed to be at high risk, she added. "The grading system won't immediately protect you… It is the systems that flow from those risk assessments that matter much, much, much more than the score." For those who don't know, DASH stands for Domestic, Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-Based Violence assessment, and is described by the BBC as 'a list of 27 questions put to victims, to 24 of which they answer yes, no or don't know'. You can view the DASH and guidance...
How much expectation can you fit in one suitcase?
Well, here I am in the interstitial space between my last case of the summer and the ceremonial packing of the suitcase for ‘the holiday’. The holiday into which I will mentally pack all my hopes and dreams and wellbeing needs, and both more activity and more rest than is humanly possible, only to return exhausted and dejected to the fray in September when the mathematical unsustainability of the whole thing has been laid bare. I am trying to keep my expectations low, as is always wise with Wales in late August. I am dampening my enthusiasm, if you will. But I will fail. But by god a holiday is much needed this year. It still threatens to be scuppered by a dog with an inconvenient mystery illness and a knack for slipping out of her bandages and splitting her stitches, but we are trying not to think about that too much. Today I hit send on my last written submissions and penned a suitable out of office response for my email, pitched perfectly so as to make anyone who...
A plea for some self restraint
I don't want to sound like your mother, but I can't help noticing that a surprising number of family lawyers have found the ColdPlay accidental affair reveal to be irresistible fodder for a spot of marketing. And as yet another post pops into my LinkedIn feed this morning, I'm here to say: please stop. You should know better. You may not have much sympathy for the astronomer and his secret squeeze, but as any family lawyer knows they are hardly unique in having an extra-marital workplace romance - but at the very least spare a thought for the other halves and the children whose lives have also probably just imploded, supernova like, every bit as much as the couple whose embrace and horrified reactions we've all now seen on every social media platform. It is really depressing to see lawyers making a joke or a buck out of what is probably a life changing catastrophe for everyone involved - resharing the image of them perpetuates and aggravates the distress for both them and their...
Still here…
There hasn't been any Pink Tape email for a long time... It isn't entirely because I've not posted anything - I have, in fact, posted a few things....In June I posted four posts - averaging one a week is not quite the rate I was going in the heyday of Pink Tape, but it was an improvement on the intermittent dribbling you are sadly more used to from me these days. A shame then that the automated whoojamaflip that tells you about those posts was broken. Anyway, by posting this, I am able to test (as of 8am on Monday) if the thing has been fixed by my website fixer, because this new post should trigger an automated email (or not). I'm hoping to write some more in July, but since opening my diary is giving me panic attacks I suspect I might not - either way, here are June's posts to be going on with: 1 June Remembering Mr Banks 15 June The small matter of fees 28 June A confusing post-script 29 June The delicate politics of the automated reply
The delicate politics of the automated reply
I've changed my out of office three times in the last couple of weeks. One change to say I was so busy that I might take some time to respond (this one offended someone who wasn't as busy and who presumably thought I was just being a show off and rubbing their nose in it) One change to say I was wearing another hat for a little while and wouldn't be looking specifically at chambers emails for a bit One more to politely explain to the people who seem to think that by some alchemy the combination of the words URGENT and INJUSTICE and CORRUPTION or BIAS will magically produce free and instantaneous legal advice based upon a long stream of consciousness email without so much as an eyelash at any papers - that in fact such enquiries need to go via my clerks, and anyway I'm too busy to take on such cases. This latter change was prompted by someone who read the first OOO and took it as a sign that they should simply send a second email, this time sprinkling in a few more of the magic words...
About this blog
“Pink Tape” isn’t just about family law. I post about topics that interest me, which mostly revolve around family law, but also include non-legal family-related topics as well as unrelated subjects. I hope this blog will convince at least one person that not all of us in the legal profession are money-hungry sharks. Some of us are actually quite nice. Additionally, I aim to provide useful information about family law for those working in the field without being too heavy or boring.
The primary goal of the blog is to improve the quality of public information and discussions about legal issues.
I understand that not everyone is a fan of “Pink Tape” or family lawyers in general.
latest
Blog Posts
The delicate politics of the automated reply
I've changed my out of office three times in the last couple of weeks. One change to say I was so busy that I might take some time to respond (this one offended someone who wasn't as busy and who presumably thought I was just being a show off and rubbing their nose in...
A confusing post-script
I came across an article in the Gazette this week with the headline: Judge issues pre-trial legal aid plea after mother left alone The article refers to this judgment of DJ Keating: London Borough of Sutton v A mother & Anor [2025] EWFC 147 (B) (bonus points to...
The small matter of fees
I know we're not supposed to mention fees. It's crass to talk about money - that's what clerks are for and all that. But now, it seems, we are expected to keep calm and carry on without any expectation of prompt payment of fees at all. An unspecified amount on an...
Remembering Mr Banks
I know some would say I have a tendency to overshare, but I'm afraid it's hardwired, so look away now if that sort of thing makes you feel uncomfortable. There are some things I haven't shared though. The last few years have been...complicated at home. You will have...
Mea Culpa – a rather belated clarification
Some past version of me wrote a blog post in 2019, which someone recently reminded me of. It said that the family court can't order seizure of a device. Oh, I said glibly, I must have written that before the creation of the family court in 2014, because that...
A learning experience
Two judgments have been circulating this week which reflect very badly on lawyers, or at any rate on two individual lawyers. I’ve been thinking a lot about them. They are uncomfortable reading for any lawyer and for any person who cares about justice. Because justice...
Can a judge make orders about a child who isn’t a subject of the proceedings?
Nope, say the Court of Appeal in a really interesting judgment delivered this week, in which my super colleague Olivia Pike argued and won the appeal. See E (Section 37 Direction, The Children Act 1989), [2025] EWCA Civ 470. I'm glad this has been cleared up because...
Necessity is the mother of intermediaries
Judgment was handed down this morning in Re M (A Child: Intermediaries) [2025] EWCA Civ 440. I had a small non-speaking part (for the FLBA). The judgment is a delightfully streamlined read and brings some welcome clarity to the approach on the appointment of...
Bristol Cable Podcast
The Bristol Cable Podcast interviewed some local girl about transparency recently. No idea who she is, but have a listen if you fancy. https://thebristolcable.org/2025/02/listen-bristol-unpacked-barrister-lucy-reed-opening-secretive-family-courts-to-scrutiny/ Also...
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Anonymized or fictional
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