Family Law is Big Business
Make no mistake, family law in the UK is big business worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year. Tens of thousands of solicitors, barristers, judges, experts and other legal hangers-on make a very nice living – thank you very much – at the expense of our children, their parents and extended families. They likely perceive they would suffer a loss of income if any system were introduced that reduced the scope for endless and pointless litigation in family courts.
It would be naive to think the legal industry will simply give up this income stream without putting up a prolonged and dirty fight. Most of all, of course, they are just afraid of change. Why should they embrace reform when the current system already gives them everything they could possibly want? Who can blame them?
To be less cynical for a moment – these people have been totally wrong for the last twenty years. Some of them know it, most of them are too stupid to even see it, and the rest are simply in denial. For them to turn around after all this time, throw up their hands and say “Yes, we’ve been wrong and hundreds of thousands of children have been harmed by our gross ineptitude.” is almost unthinkable.
Theirs is an industry that doesn’t like to think of itself as fallible, human, stupid or even capable of total failure. For most of them, to even consider that their entire careers have been based on a sham, would take a leap of honesty and self-criticism that they are probably not psychologically equipped or personally prepared to make.
These are not the sort of people who like to admit they are wrong. They are not going to unless we give them an easy, face-saving way out. But how can we do that? I wish I knew. These people profiteer on human misery and damaged childhoods.
I can’t see a way to let them off the hook?
The trouble is, if we are to protect our children and those of future generations, then I think we absolutely must find a way.
