Top lawyers urge families to resolve disputes out of court, to avoid being caught up in a pandemic backlog

The number of unresolved cases facing family courts has soared by 20 per cent in the past year.

Feuding families have been urged by senior lawyers to settle their differences out of court to avoid lengthy delays caused by a backlog of cases during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fraser Wright, the founder of legal support services firm Integrated Dispute Resolution, said: “Courts should be the last resort to deal with domestic violence and children at risk of harm, not to give people ‘their day in court.’

“There is a serious lack of knowledge and understanding that there are speedier and less costly alternatives to using the already over-stretched court system.”

Read more here.