Desperate and asking for pro-bono legal help

[Pleasecansomehelpme]

I truly can't believe it's come to this but here I am.

I need help but have no way to fund it.

My sister's son has disclosed his father has been sexually abusing him. This was 2 years ago. The police bungled the interviews, no prosecution.

The father is a complete narcissist and is now dragging my sister through the courts. After 4 hearings we have to go to fact finding which is 5 full days. We're already £17000 down on credit cards. We have no more money.

Please - if you are a family solicitor or barrister who can help keep my nephew safe and work for free I don't know how we'd repay you.

We just can't believe we've got here.

So sorry for begging. There just no other choice now.

I'm reviving this thread in the hope someone could give me abut of advice.

I'm drafting the statements for the family court fact finding hearing as we've not been able to get any pro-bono solicitor's help.

In addition to the statements, I need to adopt some police statements. Can anyone tell me how to do that?

Thank you in advance.

OP are cafcass involved & has a Guardian been appointed? A solicitor would be appointed to represent the child through the Guardian (if that makes sense). Did you apply to the pro bono unit? I'm so sorry you and your family are going through this. It is utter hell

Yes, guardian appointed. Waiting to hear from the pro-bono unit but that's only for representation in court rather than assistance with statements.

I'm currently in nearly £20k of debt. I can't afford anymore help from a solicitor.

Thank you for your reply and concern.

I am clueless about family law (practice property law) but just wanted to send support because I know bewildering the family court system can be.

I'm posting mainly to bump your post and to say how sorry I am that you are in this situation .

I have had great advice on wills and minor legal stuff here
www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=423745c912d0cf84298a51fc81ac2f86

your issue might be a bit beyond the usual dealt with but you never know ,worth a shot .

I so wish you luck .

I don't know what adopting police statements is but if I had to guess it would be something along the lines of you write a witness statement with your full name and address, type what you do, numbered paragraphs etc, pages numbered and had a sentence saying - I exhibit at the end of this witness statement the statement I (or whoever it was) gave to the police dated XYZ (and then attach it and sign the front and date it ) and I confirm that everything stated in that statement remains true and accurate. I draw attention to XYZ..." and point out any very important bits and then I confirm this witness statement is true or whatever you say at the end of them and then sign and date it and give your full name including middle name.

That may not be be what adopting statements given to the police means but it is my best guess at it.

I'm the OP under a new name and I'm hoping that someone who read this thread before might be able to give me a quick piece of advice.

We have had fact-finding and no findings were made and there now has to be an assessment by an independent social worker about whether contact is possible and whether my sister's parenting is suitable.

There is a directions hearing on Monday but we can't afford representation. My sister is very underconfident so I was wondering about either getting or being a McKenzie Friend for her.

Can someone advise me how to go about doing that? Do I need to apply to the court in advance? It's so hard just getting the information you need. Thanks in advance

I'm not a lawyer.

There are lots of McKenzie Friends advertising online. This article from a few years ago highlights the potential pros and cons of appointing one.

You would need to apply to the court in advance for permission to appoint a McKenzie Friend. This info from the court in Bristol explains. Some of the links at the bottom might also be useful.

You could seek to appoint a very junior, junior barrister.They won’t cost a lot more than a McKenzie Friend and will be a lot better trained. Many Chambers have young barristers who have just qualified taking on this type of work.