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The legal representation of children of parents in child care proceedings: Problems and strategies.

  • Start date: 01 June 2008
  • End date: 31 May 2010

This research will examine the task of legal representation and client management, focusing on the representation of parents in child care proceedings.  Care proceedings have been subject to extensive review and changes in procedure recently and the research is prompted also by the Care Profiling Study conducted by the applicants for the Ministry of Justice.


New procedures emphasise the importance of good legal representation not simply for the benefit of the parents, but also for the smooth operation of the system.  Faced with problems of cost and delay, legal representatives are being identified as a key part of the solution.  It is particularly relevant now to provide clear understandings of how the legal representatives of parents conceive and operate their role.

The research will use qualitative methods. A preliminary phase involves observations of interim court hearings to obtain an overview of the process in practice.   A second element will comprise a set of contemporaneous case studies.  A third element will comprise interviews with legal representatives and other key personnel involved in the process, to explore wider conceptions of the role, adding breadth to the case studies. 

Grant holder

Mrs Julia Pearce

Programme name

None

Co - applicants

Professor judith masson

Grant amount

£189,179.24

Grant reference

RES-062-23-1163

Institution

University of Bristol

Discipline

Socio Legal Studies

Socio-Legal Studies

Grant type

Research Grant