Urgent non molestation order hearing help

[Giraffe888]

I was granted a without notice non molestation order against my ex husband last Friday. The further hearing is next Tuesday 2nd September. My solicitor is on annual leave and they’ve not got my legal aid cover sorted for this and the solicitors can’t provide anyone else to attend.

my local domestic abuse charity are sending someone with me so I’ll at least have someone there for support.

I know this hearing is where my ex can contest the order. Will I also be questioned at this hearing or will it be at the next one where I get questioned? I just need to know how much I need to prepare.

Umm solicitors can't just abandon you mid case. Tell them to get the funding sorted and book a barrister for the hearing.

my ex was also served a non-molestation order without notice which he contested and I am guessing you ex has contested this hence why you are now at court. My ex and I were out in seperate rooms. I got legal aid and I would advise you to find a local family solicitor who accepts legal aid. My aid was granted within 1 working day.
On the day of hearing, he and I were put in separate rooms and my legal representative went between mine and his room to discuss how to move forward. The judge will want to see that you have tried to find a resolve before going into the court room.
I agreed on retracting the order and instead ‘undertakings’ were put in place. I didn’t care what it was called as long as he left me alone.
My non-mol order was served to him in the February amd he breached this 11 times in the first week. I couldn’t be in the same court room as him, even the thought of the sound of his voice made me retch. The magistrate agreed to see us separately. Good luck. I know the pain you have been through to get to where you are now.

@justinhawkinsnavalfluff my solicitor has only been helping me with child contact related things, they’ve had no dealings with the non-mol, i did that with help from an online service called courtnav who have been excellent.

the hearing next Tuesday is just the one for ex to agree or contest so I believe I won’t be questioned or anything at that one? My solicitor should therefore be sorted in time to come with me to the further hearing where I’ll be required to speak etc.

@ticktockali i have got a separate waiting room in court and the privacy screen will be up. How many hearings did yours take to be sorted out?

So your solicitor is not on the court record for you. They have no obligation to provide you with representation, but they must not have thought that you would justify a grant of emergency legal aid otherwise they would have exercised devolved powers to grant you a certificate.

I suppose you could ask if there is a colleague who could look at the case and see if they can grant you emergency LA to cover representation at the hearing but finding a barrister to represent you at short notice may be an issue.

They know I qualify for legal aid as I was granted it only two weeks ago for the children related solicitor involvement.

If it's legal aid and the funding has not come through yet the solicitor cannot do anything.

So have they applied for legal aid to cover the NM application or not? And if they have, have they explained why it is not appropriate for there to be a grant of emergency legal aid? Only they can answer these questions, and it's quite possible they have already explained this to you.

No they haven’t yet and they’ve said this won’t be done in time before the first hearing on Tuesday