Burgess Mee and Rosefield Divorce Consultancy announce “Trauma in Family Law” collaboration

Date: 21 Oct 2024

Karen Jones

Call for all family law professionals to be trauma-informed to avoid miscarriages of justice.

Specialists from Burgess Mee, the family and private wealth law firm, and Rosefield Divorce Consultancy launch a ground-breaking trauma collaboration and call for all family law professionals to be trauma-informed.

As Burgess Mee co-founder and partner, Peter Burgess, says: “Working in the family courts without an understanding of the impact of trauma risks evidence being misunderstood and vastly increases the potential for unjust decisions. An awareness of trauma – and how to help clients manage it – is essential if justice is to be served.”

Rosefield Divorce Consultancy’s founder, Laura Rosefield, adds: “The impact of trauma on people going through family law issues can be truly debilitating, both on the person suffering and any children. It’s critical that family law professionals can recognise the signs of trauma in their clients so that they can provide the most appropriate advice and support.”

In what is believed to be a market first, Burgess Mee and Rosefield Divorce Consultancy have trained all their solicitors and consultants to recognise the signs of trauma, understand how it might affect a client – particularly during pressure points in the legal process – and to identify adjustments to best support the client. As part of this, they are introducing formal, trauma-specific processes, including how they communicate with clients, recommending or rejecting particular options for dispute resolution, or arranging additional support such as therapeutic interventions.

The pioneering trauma training and approach was devised by Burgess Mee and Rosefield Divorce Consultancy, in collaboration with Innisfree Therapy, a clinic that uses a unique approach to trauma based on therapeutic innovation and neuroscience.  Furthermore, they have created a unique trauma resource for clients – www.withinthewindow.com – to help clients to stay in their “window of tolerance” and avoid the typical trauma responses: fight, flight, freeze or fawn.

Dr. Kirsty Loudon, Clinical Director at Innisfree Therapy, says:

“As a psychotherapy practice working with both individuals and couples, we often see the devastating effects that the legal process can have on clients’ wellbeing. We strongly believe a trauma-informed approach in family law is vital for understanding the significant effects of trauma on clients’ actions, decision-making and ability to cope in the legal system.”

A key aim of this initiative is to improve the understanding of how trauma impacts the way individuals present themselves in court. For instance, a spouse leaving an abusive relationship may seem confused or disoriented – the classic freeze response – which can make them appear evasive when giving evidence.

Alternatively, a spouse may have tried, over many years, to appease the perpetrator of abuse by writing messages or cards saying what a wonderful person they are and taking the blame for any altercations themselves. This can be a classic “fawn” trauma response, without an understanding of which, the witness’s evidence can be grossly misunderstood.

Experience of abuse often triggers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can often be misinterpreted, leading to an individual’s testimony being unfairly dismissed as weak or unreliable.

Yet according to the latest academic research on the subject, “People, not just books: An Investigation into the Knowledge and Understanding of Trauma Informed Practice in The Justice System” by Catherine O’Neill, 93.5% barrister and solicitor respondents said they work with traumatised people, but only 8.7% had attended trauma-informed practice training.

This highlights a crucial access to justice issue: without a clear understanding of how trauma affects behaviour, legal professionals risk overlooking the truth, resulting in unjust decisions. 

Commenting further, Peter Burgess says: “In family law, professionals work with vulnerable clients often without proper appreciation of the impact of trauma. This cannot be right. “Many of our clients come to us having suffered significant trauma in their relationships and this can continue as they resolve the issues arising from their separation. To compound this, the family justice system is adversarial in nature with the court having very broad discretion regarding both finances and child arrangements, meaning that clients have to battle it out for the outcome they seek. The process can exacerbate existing trauma. “The signs of trauma can be confusing for those who are not trained. Someone who is unable to deal with the legal process and disengages due to trauma could, for instance, be labelled by a judge as ‘difficult’ or ‘dishonest’, with far-reaching consequences. “By bringing trauma front and centre, we hope to ensure that clients have their case properly heard, whilst feeling supported throughout the process, and to encourage other firms to follow suit.”

Laura Rosefield says: “In my 14 years of working with people going through family separation, I have consistently found the impact of trauma on my clients to be utterly devastating. I can’t emphasise enough how difficult it is for clients to go through the legal process while experiencing trauma and what a huge difference it makes when their advisers understand the effect of this and how to help address it. “In many cases, helping clients with their trauma first and foremost has not only helped them have a better experience of family law but has also led to a more positive outcome to their case.”

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