Post-Covid child abuse litigation - a new future

This webinar took place on Thursday 11 March 2021 and is now available on-demand. The content in this recording was correct as of the original webinar date.

In this video participants and their organisations will be starting to look beyond the immediate impact of Covid-19, now planning for the future of litigation including child abuse litigation. Our speakers share their experiences and learning over the last 18 months and be ready to answer any questions you have.

Leah Jones understands only too well how legal funding cuts and other cultural changes have led to an increase in litigants in person. Happily most litigants address the claims process with patience and even humour, but a significant minority can present very severe challenges for Defendant organisations and their insurers. Leah will share her experiences of obtaining a Civil Restraint Order against a particularly vexatious litigant in person, and discuss options for managing litigation involving unrepresented parties.

Lockdown and its impact on children and families, particularly those on the edge of care, will have a very long tail. Sadly children services organisations continue to face a large number of negligence and Human Rights Act claims. For the immediate future at least it is clear that these cases will require careful consideration, which will involve taking of detailed witness statements from already hard pressed social workers. Sarah Erwin-Jones will share our experiences of working with those social workers, around their existing commitments, in difficult and remote working conditions. Use of virtual platforms such as Zoom, Skype and Web-ex have made face to face conversations much easier and have led to unexpected opportunities for collaboration and costs savings. For every organisation your employees are your best asset and we can help you look after them.

Finally, conditions imposed by Covid-19 lockdown mean that some trials have had to take place remotely. That is unlikely to stop in future, and an increasing number of trials and hearings are likely to take place wholly or at partly remotely. James Arrowsmith will share his experiences of running a remote social care trial providing you with practical tips on how to:

• Continue looking after those social work witnesses into the trial experience
• Share information safely
• Ensure that the Court has all the materials it needs in good time
• Use modern technology to its greatest effect.

The opinions expressed on this video are provided for the purposes of general interest and information and should not be relied upon. They contain only summaries of aspects of the subject matter at the time of publishing and do not provide comprehensive statements of the law. They do not constitute legal advice and do not provide a substitute for it. So why not talk to us and seek advice that's tailored to you? You can look up one of our experts on this website or call on 0370 270 6000.