A Practical Guide to Working as a Family Law Paralegal

What Does a Family Paralegal Do

Family paralegals are often the first point of contact for clients seeking help with sensitive issues such as divorce, children matters, surrogacy and domestic abuse. The role involves taking detailed instructions, handling preliminary issues and supporting fee earners with complex cases and billing.

Typical Paralegal Tasks

Completing Forms

A large part of the role involves completing forms, many of which are available through Thomson Reuters' Practical Law. You may be asked to prepare a Form H (estimate of costs) or a Form H1 (statement of costs for a final hearing). It is good practice to prepare a spreadsheet showing your workings for the fee earner to review.

Sometimes you will be given a precedent, but often you will not. If you are unsure, look at similar matters completed by trainees or paralegals and ask for guidance. A precedent is ideal, but asking questions is essential when you don't have one.

Property Particulars

You may be asked to gather property particulars to demonstrate a client's or the other side's housing budget. This usually involves searching for properties in a specific area that meet certain criteria, such as the number of bedrooms or outdoor space.

Once you find suitable properties on sites like Zoopla, PrimeLocation or Rightmove, save the webpage as a PDF and download any available brochures. You may then need to create a schedule of properties, prepare a map with pins and compile a bundle using Bundledocs or another document management system.

If you are unfamiliar with the software, ask IT for help or check the firm's intranet for process notes. Make thorough notes once shown how to do something, or record the process if you are a visual or auditory learner.

Procedure Letters

At the start of a new matter, you may be asked to send procedure letters explaining the process from beginning to end. These letters are usually split into divorce, finances and children, as each follows a different litigation route. Sometimes you will send a generic procedure fact sheet instead.

Chasing the Court

Family paralegals spend a surprising amount of time calling the court for updates. You may find yourself contacting centres such as the Bury St Edmunds Regional Divorce Centre regularly.

Courts often have backlogs, so patience is essential. Fee earners rely on your updates, so perseverance matters. When calling, you will be asked for details such as:

• client name
• name of the other side
• petitioner's address
• petitioner's postcode
• ground for divorce
• date of marriage

You may also need your firm's address and postcode, so keep these handy.

After the call, prepare an attendance note including:

• time of the call
• time the court answered
• data protection questions asked
• name of the person you spoke to
• information obtained

Some departments prefer verbatim notes, so write them like scripts. Then time‑record both the call and the attendance note.

Gathering Precedents

Precedents are essential. If you have not done a task before, ask for one. Asking a partner for guidance can feel daunting, but it is far better than attempting the task alone and making avoidable mistakes. Gathering precedents is part of your role.

File Stripping

File stripping is non‑chargeable work carried out when a file must be passed to a former client or their new solicitors. You may need to scan and compile the file or review it in person.

Remove anything internal, anything confidential relating to other clients and anything inappropriate or duplicated. When transferring a matter, you may also need to remove invoices and references to your firm's fees.