1. Who we are

JSH Law Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 16870438.

JSH Law provides non-reserved legal services, litigation support and McKenzie Friend assistance, particularly to litigants in person.

JSH Law Ltd is not a firm of solicitors and is not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise and lawfully permitted:

• we are not acting as your solicitor or barrister;
• we do not go on the court record as your legal representative;
• we do not conduct litigation on your behalf;
• we do not accept service as your solicitor or legal representative;
• we do not sign statements of truth or court documents on your behalf;
• we do not give undertakings on your behalf; and
• we have no automatic right to address the court, make submissions or question witnesses.

Depending on the work agreed, our service may include legal information, legal research, drafting assistance and support in relation to non-reserved legal matters. That does not make JSH Law an authorised solicitors’ practice.

2. Website content is general information

Articles, blog posts, guidance pages, commentary, checklists, templates, videos, social-media content and other material published by JSH Law are provided for general information, public legal education, commentary and practical support.

They are not a substitute for advice based on the particular facts, evidence, court orders and procedural history of your own matter.

A legal principle that applies in one case may not produce the same result in another case. Family proceedings in particular are fact-sensitive and may involve welfare considerations, safeguarding, disputed evidence, judicial discretion and case-management decisions.

You should obtain appropriate case-specific assistance where the consequences of acting or failing to act may be significant.

3. Using this website does not create a client relationship

Viewing the website, reading an article, downloading a resource, submitting a contact form, sending an email, messaging JSH Law or following JSH Law on social media does not by itself create a client relationship or require us to undertake work.

An instruction is accepted only when JSH Law expressly agrees to undertake the relevant work. This will normally be documented through a Client Agreement, Task Confirmation, invoice, written confirmation or another clear written agreement.

Sending documents to JSH Law, copying us into correspondence or telling us about a hearing or deadline does not automatically mean that we have accepted responsibility for reviewing the documents or meeting the deadline.

4. Litigants in person remain responsible for their proceedings

If you are representing yourself, you remain the litigant in person and remain responsible for the conduct of your own case unless a particular lawful step has expressly been agreed.

This includes responsibility for:

• checking and complying with court orders and deadlines;
• filing and serving documents;
• attending hearings;
• checking drafts before they are used;
• ensuring factual statements are accurate;
• signing statements of truth where required;
• deciding whether to file, send or rely on a document;
• telling JSH Law about relevant orders, evidence and developments; and
• obtaining regulated representation where your circumstances require it.

A template, example or suggested form of wording should never be filed simply because it appears on the JSH Law website. It must be checked and adapted to the particular case.

5. Law, procedure and guidance change

JSH Law aims to publish accurate, useful and evidence-led information, and we update material where appropriate. However, law, procedural rules, Practice Directions, court forms, fees, government guidance, Cafcass guidance, policy and local practice can change.

An article is ordinarily accurate only by reference to the sources and information available when it was written or last updated.

Older content may therefore become incomplete or be superseded.

Where a current legal or procedural point matters to your case, check the latest legislation, Family Procedure Rules, Practice Directions, court order, official guidance and other authoritative sources before acting.

6. Cases, judgments and reported allegations

JSH Law may analyse judgments, reported cases, public inquiries, reports, professional guidance, published allegations and other matters of public interest.

A report that somebody has made an allegation is not the same as a judicial finding that the allegation is true.

Where possible, our content seeks to distinguish between:

• allegations;
• evidence or reported evidence;
• judicial findings;
• professional assessments;
• published claims;
• commentary or opinion; and
• established legal principles.

Commentary about a judgment, report, public body or professional practice should be read in that context and not treated as a finding about another person or case.

7. No guarantee of outcome

JSH Law cannot guarantee a court result, finding, recommendation, settlement, order, procedural ruling, enforcement outcome, costs decision or other litigation outcome.

Courts and other decision-makers consider the evidence and circumstances before them. Outcomes may depend upon matters including:

• the applicable law;
• the evidence available;
• the credibility and reliability of evidence;
• the child’s welfare where relevant;
• safeguarding considerations;
• procedural history;
• compliance with orders and rules;
• case-management decisions; and
• judicial discretion.

Discussion of possible arguments, procedural options or likely issues is therefore not a promise that a particular result will follow.

8. McKenzie Friend assistance and court attendance

A litigant in person may ordinarily receive reasonable assistance from a McKenzie Friend. This may include moral support, taking notes, helping with papers and quietly giving advice.

A McKenzie Friend has no independent right of audience and no independent right to conduct litigation.

If a litigant asks for a lay person to speak on their behalf, address the court, question witnesses or undertake another activity requiring a right of audience, the issue is for the court to determine in the particular proceedings.

Court attendance by JSH Law is therefore subject to the scope agreed with the client and the powers and directions of the court.

No website statement guarantees that a court will permit a particular form of participation.

Official Judiciary guidance on McKenzie Friends can be found at: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary – McKenzie Friends Practice Guidance .

9. Other jurisdictions

JSH Law website content is written primarily by reference to the law and procedure of England and Wales unless expressly stated otherwise.

Material referring to another country or jurisdiction should not be treated as advice on that jurisdiction’s law unless this is expressly stated and appropriately sourced.

If a matter involves another jurisdiction, you may need advice from an appropriately authorised lawyer practising there.

10. Family-court confidentiality and restricted material

Proceedings concerning children and other family matters may involve statutory restrictions, reporting restrictions, confidentiality obligations or specific court orders governing the use, disclosure and publication of information.

Material such as Cafcass reports, social-work records, medical information, school records, police disclosure, transcripts, expert reports, statements and court documents may be subject to restrictions.

The fact that a document may lawfully be shared with a person assisting you in proceedings does not mean that it may be published online or circulated more widely.

Before publishing, forwarding or otherwise disclosing family-court material, you should make sure that you are legally entitled to do so.

11. Safeguarding and emergencies

Do not rely on a blog article, website form, email, voicemail, WhatsApp message or social-media message to obtain emergency protection.

Concerns about a child or vulnerable adult may also require contact with the relevant local authority safeguarding service, police, NHS service or another appropriate specialist organisation.

Please read our Safeguarding Statement for further information.

12. AI-assisted content and technology

JSH Law uses technology, including AI-assisted tools, to support aspects of research, drafting, editing, accessibility, website publishing, content organisation and other workflows.

AI-assisted tools do not replace human responsibility for material published by JSH Law. Substantive legal content should be reviewed before publication, and important legal or procedural propositions should be checked against appropriate sources.

AI systems may produce incomplete, inaccurate or misleading output. The presence of AI-assisted technology in a workflow should not be treated as evidence that an answer is legally correct.

JSH Law does not use public website AI tools as a substitute for analysing the actual evidence and circumstances of an individual client’s case.

Our use of personal information and AI-assisted technology is explained further in our Privacy Policy.

13. Templates, examples and downloadable resources

JSH Law may provide templates, examples, draft structures, checklists and downloadable resources.

These are starting points only. A document suitable for one case may be inappropriate in another.

Before using a template, consider matters including:

• the particular court order;
• the procedural stage of the case;
• the evidence actually available;
• the relief or order sought;
• applicable rules and Practice Directions;
• page or word limits;
• filing and service requirements; and
• any directions made by the judge.

You remain responsible for checking any document that you sign, file, serve, send or rely upon.

14. Third-party websites and external material

The JSH Law website links to legislation, judgments, government websites, the Judiciary, Cafcass, charities, professional organisations, academic material, media reports, social-media platforms and other external resources.

Links are provided because they may assist the reader. They do not necessarily amount to an endorsement of every view, statement, service or item published by the external organisation.

JSH Law does not control external websites and cannot guarantee their continued availability, security, accuracy, accessibility or privacy practices.

Where a legal proposition matters, primary sources such as legislation, rules, judgments and official guidance should generally be preferred over summaries or headlines.

15. Social media and public commentary

JSH Law may publish commentary through LinkedIn, Substack, Facebook and other platforms. Short-form social content is necessarily more condensed than a full legal analysis.

Social-media posts should not be treated as case-specific advice or as a complete statement of the law.

Comments made by third parties beneath JSH Law content are the responsibility of the person posting them and do not necessarily represent the views of JSH Law.

16. Communications and online systems

Electronic communications may involve ordinary risks such as delay, non-delivery, misdirection, spam filtering, interception, service outages or technical failure.

You should keep your contact information current and check relevant inboxes, junk folders, portal notifications and messages.

A response from JSH Law outside normal working hours does not create an ongoing obligation to provide an out-of-hours service.

17. JSH Law is not a 24-hour service

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, JSH Law does not provide a 24-hour emergency, on-call or continuous monitoring service.

Do not assume that an email, voicemail, portal upload or message will be read immediately.

Court deadlines and urgent protective action remain your responsibility unless JSH Law has expressly agreed in writing to undertake a particular task by reference to that deadline.

18. Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, original JSH Law website content, templates, graphics, commentary, layouts, downloads and branding are owned by or licensed to JSH Law Ltd.

You may read, print or save reasonable extracts for your own personal use and may use materials supplied to you for your own matter where permitted by the applicable terms.

Content must not be reproduced, republished, sold, commercially exploited or presented as somebody else’s work without permission, except where applicable law permits otherwise.

Quotations, judgments, legislation, government material and other third-party works remain subject to their own ownership, licensing and permitted-use rules.

19. Responsibility and liability

Nothing in this Disclaimer excludes or restricts liability where the law does not permit exclusion or restriction.

Nothing in this Disclaimer removes statutory consumer rights or changes JSH Law’s obligation, where applicable, to perform agreed paid services with reasonable care and skill.

General website information is not prepared for the particular circumstances of every reader. JSH Law is therefore not responsible merely because general information does not produce the result a reader expected when applied to a different factual or procedural situation.

Subject to applicable law, JSH Law is not responsible for loss to the extent that it results from matters outside our responsibility, including:

• a court or third-party decision;
• reliance on website information that has become superseded;
• use of a template without adapting it to the relevant case;
• inaccurate or incomplete information supplied by a user;
• failure to obtain appropriate case-specific assistance where reasonably required;
• failure to comply with a court order or deadline;
• material changes made by a user to a draft or resource;
• third-party websites or services outside our control; or
• events outside our reasonable control.

Liability arising from paid client work is governed by the applicable Client Agreement, Terms of Business, Task Confirmation and the law, rather than by this public website Disclaimer alone.

20. Recording, complaints and lawful disclosure

Client consultations and other communications may be subject to contractual terms concerning recording, confidentiality and use. Please refer to your Client Agreement and Terms of Business where applicable.

Nothing on this website is intended to prevent anybody from:

• making a genuine complaint;
• seeking independent legal advice;
• exercising a statutory right;
• complying with a court order;
• making a lawful disclosure to a regulator, court, police or other appropriate authority; or
• giving truthful evidence where lawfully required.

21. Relationship with our other terms

This Disclaimer should be read alongside:

• Terms of Service;
• Privacy Policy;
• Complaints Procedure;
• Safeguarding Statement; and
• the JSH Law Client Agreement and Terms of Business where you become a client.

Where JSH Law has accepted an instruction and matter-specific written terms deal with an issue more specifically, those terms will govern that client matter subject to applicable law.

22. Contact

If you have a question about this Disclaimer, contact:

JSH Law Ltd
Email: jessica.hill@jshlaw.co.uk