The concept of having someone who is a Social Worker / Family Law solicitor seems promising as much of a Family Law solicitors work would often overlap with social work. However the main difference would be in the fees charged by a Family Law solicitor and a Social Worker.

Why just pick on lawyers

How about cross-training for nurses to become GPs.
That should help reducing the waiting times on seeing a GP.

This is a very moving article, thank you. It seems to me that we have come to a point in society where we believe in "qualifications" over our own experience. As if they have some kind of objective, concrete existence, instead of simply being something we have created. This worship of "qualifications" also breeds rigidity and conventionality, a refusal to look at lateral solutions.
There is an emperor's new clothes quality about us. We only believe in what we can measure; an exam mark, for instance. If we can't measure something - like compassion, empathy, wisdom - we act like it doesn't exist. Donald Horne has called this "fantasies of exactitude".
People talk about promotion on merit, but I have yet to see that we really understand what merit actually means. Carolyn's tragic story demonstrates what great harm can be done by highly qualified, highly educated ignoramouses.

Author, you and "Just an opinion" make an extremely valuable point. As my career path has been more like a garden path, I have been constantly surprised by the skills I have gained that have been attractive to employers in a different industry (and some not so attractive I might add). I do sympathise with your friend, but do not blame the Chris as such (hands tied as per referral) I would like to see a blurring of the lines such as you suggest - ie a laywer in the case of Caroline could refer her on to a support/counsellor situation. In the case of supporting a client as a person it should be the case. Is any legislation stopping this or is this something we can take into our own hands? (ie: a lawyer can refer a DV client onto a counsellor with impunity - and of course - no extra cost to the client) Certainly worth exploring

Nicholas,

Your suggestion of allowing social workers to become family law lawyers with just 18 months worth of training makes my blood freeze.

As a frequent consumer of commercial legal services, and only more recently of family law legal services, the standard of most family lawyers is low enough as it is at the moment - a point your story tends to confirm. Allowing a quickie legal qualification would make it even worse.

In any event, I don't think it would be possible. Family law involves most of the elements of all other types of law. To do it competently you need specialist knowledge in the Family Law and Child Support Acts, amongst others, but you also need a working knowledge of equity, contract and commercial.

I'm all in favour of the portfolio career - I've had one myself - but I have a problem with shortcuts.

I'm not sure I want a quickie degree for a profession but would be happy to have a wider range of options available to me as a current consumer in Family Law.

I think that there is some space for people specific Family Law trained who I could pay to review documents I prepared, act as a friend of the court, provide advice at a concilliation conference etc without the massive cost of a full blown lawyer. Spot the gotcha's that I as an emotionally distraught participant might miss and which friends and family have no idea about.

I do the work, they provide limited support services - on an "all care no responsibilty" basis. If you want the lawyer then you pay for one, if not then have a more affordable option.