Safeguarding Statement

Last updated: 01.12.2025

JSH Law Ltd provides litigation support and McKenzie Friend services. Our work may involve family proceedings, children matters, domestic abuse allegations, coercive control, vulnerable adults, mental health concerns, criminal allegations, police material, social services involvement, safeguarding evidence, court orders, and highly sensitive personal information.

This Safeguarding Statement explains our approach to safeguarding concerns that may arise through our work. It does not make JSH Law Ltd an emergency service, social care provider, regulated legal practice, domestic abuse service, counselling service, mental health service, crisis service, safeguarding authority, or investigating agency.

This Safeguarding Statement should be read alongside our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, Complaints Procedure, and any Client Agreement, matter description, task confirmation, invoice, or written terms agreed with you.

Important status notice

JSH Law Ltd provides litigation support and McKenzie Friend services to litigants in person. We are not a firm of solicitors and we are not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board, CILEx Regulation, or any other approved legal services regulator.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, we do not conduct litigation, do not carry out reserved legal activities, do not go on the court record as your legal representative, and do not have an automatic right of audience before any court or tribunal.

Any permission for us to attend court with you, sit with you, assist you, take notes, quietly advise you, or address the court is entirely a matter for the judge in the individual case or hearing.

Our safeguarding commitment

We take safeguarding seriously. Where information provided to us raises a concern that a child, young person, vulnerable adult, client, staff member, contractor, professional, or another person may be at risk of harm, we will consider what action is reasonable, proportionate, and lawful in the circumstances.

Our approach is guided by the need to respect confidentiality while recognising that confidentiality may need to give way where there is a risk of serious harm, abuse, neglect, exploitation, coercive control, immediate danger, or another safeguarding concern requiring action.

Safeguarding decisions are often fact-sensitive. We may take into account the urgency of the risk, the seriousness of the concern, the vulnerability of the person affected, the involvement of children, existing court orders, reporting restrictions, confidentiality obligations, and whether another professional, authority, or emergency service is better placed to respond.

Immediate danger

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 immediately.

If there is an urgent but non-emergency police concern, call 101. If urgent medical help is needed, contact NHS 111 or emergency services as appropriate.

Do not rely on email, website forms, WhatsApp messages, social media messages, voicemail, client portal messages, or appointment bookings with JSH Law Ltd for emergency safeguarding situations.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, JSH Law Ltd does not provide a 24-hour, emergency, out-of-hours, or on-call service. We may respond outside ordinary working hours at our discretion, but doing so does not create any obligation to do so in future.

Scope of this statement

This statement applies to safeguarding concerns involving:

• children and young people;
• adults at risk;
• clients or prospective clients who may be vulnerable because of abuse, disability, illness, coercion, trauma, mental health, age, capacity, isolation, exploitation, financial pressure, domestic abuse, or other circumstances;
• people mentioned in documents, evidence, court papers, reports, messages, screenshots, recordings, or communications provided to us;
• risks arising in court-related, family, civil, criminal, education, housing, immigration, enforcement, or other litigation support contexts;
• risks connected with online publication, social media activity, harassment, intimidation, doxxing, or misuse of documents.

Types of concern

Safeguarding concerns may include, but are not limited to:

• physical, emotional, sexual, domestic, financial, institutional, organisational, or discriminatory abuse;
• coercive or controlling behaviour;
• child abuse, neglect, exposure to domestic abuse, exploitation, grooming, or unsafe contact arrangements;
• adult abuse, neglect, self-neglect, exploitation, coercion, undue influence, or financial abuse;
• threats of suicide, self-harm, serious violence, abduction, stalking, harassment, intimidation, or serious harm;
• forced marriage, honour-based abuse, trafficking, modern slavery, criminal exploitation, or sexual exploitation;
• risks arising from unsafe contact arrangements, court orders, child arrangements disputes, enforcement disputes, or litigation conduct;
• misuse of litigation, vexatious communications, online posting, doxxing, intimidation, harassment, or publication of restricted material;
• technology-facilitated abuse, including monitoring, impersonation, image-based abuse, hacking, tracking, spyware, or misuse of accounts;
• concerns that a person may lack capacity, be under undue influence, be unable to give safe instructions, or require additional support.

Confidentiality and disclosure

We treat client information as confidential. However, confidentiality is not absolute.

We may disclose information where we reasonably consider disclosure necessary or justified for safeguarding, prevention of serious harm, protection of vital interests, compliance with law, compliance with a court order, protection of a child, protection of an adult at risk, or protection of our legitimate interests.

Depending on the circumstances, disclosure may be made to:

• the police;
• children’s services;
• adult safeguarding services;
• the court or tribunal;
• a regulated legal representative;
• a domestic abuse, mental health, medical, or crisis support service;
• a school, health professional, local authority, or other safeguarding body;
• another appropriate authority, professional, or agency.

Wherever safe and appropriate, we may discuss concerns with the client before taking further action. However, we may act without consent where seeking consent would increase risk, prejudice a safeguarding response, place someone in danger, breach a legal obligation, conflict with a court order, or be inappropriate in the circumstances.

Client responsibility

Clients remain responsible for taking urgent protective steps where needed. This may include contacting police, children’s services, adult safeguarding services, domestic abuse support services, emergency accommodation services, medical professionals, regulated legal advisers, or the court.

If you are involved in court proceedings, you remain responsible for complying with court orders and for raising relevant safeguarding concerns with the court, Cafcass, local authority, police, school, health professional, or your regulated legal adviser where appropriate.

You must tell us immediately if there is a court order, injunction, non-molestation order, occupation order, bail condition, child arrangements order, prohibited steps order, specific issue order, reporting restriction, confidentiality order, penal notice, safeguarding plan, police condition, social services plan, or other restriction relevant to the information you provide or the work you ask us to carry out.

Children and family proceedings

In children and family proceedings, safeguarding concerns may need to be raised through the court, Cafcass, Cafcass Cymru, local authority children’s services, police, schools, health professionals, domestic abuse services, or regulated legal representatives.

JSH Law Ltd may help a litigant in person organise information, understand procedural options, prepare draft materials, and identify practical next steps. We do not replace the role of the court, Cafcass, social services, police, schools, safeguarding agencies, medical professionals, or regulated legal advisers.

You remain responsible for ensuring that any document you file, serve, sign, send, publish, or rely on is accurate, complete, lawful, and suitable for your case.

Family court confidentiality and restricted documents

Family court proceedings, children matters, Cafcass reports, social services records, police disclosure, medical records, school records, safeguarding materials, and court documents may be confidential or subject to restrictions on use, disclosure, copying, or publication.

You must not upload, send, publish, share, forward, screenshot, circulate, or disclose restricted material unless you are lawfully permitted to do so.

If you provide documents or information to JSH Law Ltd, you are responsible for ensuring that they may lawfully be shared with us and used for the purpose for which you provide them.

You must tell us immediately if any document, order, report, transcript, recording, screenshot, photograph, message, police material, social services material, Cafcass material, school record, medical record, or other information is subject to any restriction on use, disclosure, publication, or onward sharing.

Domestic abuse and coercive control

We recognise that domestic abuse may include physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, coercive control, harassment, stalking, litigation abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, post-separation abuse, and threats or intimidation through third parties.

Where domestic abuse, coercive control, or unsafe contact is raised, we may suggest that the client obtains specialist support from a regulated legal adviser, domestic abuse service, police, local authority, safeguarding agency, GP, mental health service, or other appropriate organisation.

Where there appears to be an immediate risk of harm, you should contact emergency services rather than waiting for JSH Law Ltd to respond.

Capacity, vulnerability, and litigation pressure

Litigation can place clients under significant pressure. If we become concerned that a client may not understand instructions, may be unable to make decisions safely, may be under undue influence, may be acting under pressure from a third party, or may need additional support, we may pause work, ask for clarification, suggest independent advice, recommend support services, or decline to continue where it would be unsafe or inappropriate to do so.

We may also pause or stop work if communications become excessive, abusive, threatening, manipulative, discriminatory, misleading, or otherwise unsafe.

Third-party influence and safeguarding risk

You are free to seek independent legal advice or support from others. However, third-party involvement can create safeguarding, confidentiality, pressure, conflict, or clarity issues.

If a third party is advising you, assisting you, communicating with you about the matter, influencing your instructions, or pressuring you to take a particular step, you should tell us where that may affect the work we are asked to carry out.

We may suspend or terminate work if third-party involvement, conflict, pressure, publication, online activity, reputational risk, safeguarding concerns, or a breakdown in trust makes the working relationship unsafe, inappropriate, or unworkable.

Inappropriate, unsafe, or unlawful instructions

We will not assist with conduct that appears improper, misleading, abusive, unsafe, unlawful, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, coercive, exploitative, or contrary to safeguarding principles.

This includes attempts to misuse court process, publish harmful or restricted material, evade court orders, intimidate parties or professionals, manipulate evidence, misrepresent our role, misuse our documents, or place a child or adult at risk.

We may refuse instructions, stop work, terminate the client relationship, preserve evidence, or make a safeguarding disclosure where appropriate.

Online publication, social media, and reputational risk

Publication of court material, private communications, children’s information, safeguarding material, allegations, photographs, videos, screenshots, or identifying information can create serious legal and safeguarding risk.

You must not publish, post, share, quote, screenshot, forward, circulate, or otherwise disclose our communications, drafts, attendance notes, invoices, internal comments, working materials, or documents on social media, websites, campaign pages, messaging groups, review platforms, or public forums without our prior written consent, unless required by law or court order.

You must not make or encourage false, misleading, defamatory, malicious, or unfair statements about JSH Law Ltd, its director, staff, contractors, services, communications, fees, or work.

Nothing in this statement prevents you from making a genuine complaint, seeking independent legal advice, complying with a court order, exercising statutory rights, making a lawful disclosure to an appropriate authority, or giving truthful evidence where lawfully required.

Record keeping

We may keep records of safeguarding concerns, decisions, communications, referrals, advice given, actions taken, complaints, file reviews, attendance notes, invoices, payment records, and related materials.

These records may be retained for legal compliance, safeguarding, complaints handling, risk management, insurance, accounting, debt recovery, legal claims, and dispute resolution purposes.

We may retain matter files, communications, drafts, attendance notes, invoices, payment records, and related documents for as long as reasonably necessary for legal, contractual, tax, insurance, complaints, safeguarding, debt recovery, and legitimate business purposes. After that period, records may be securely deleted or destroyed.

Data protection

Safeguarding information may include sensitive personal data, special category data, criminal offence-related data, children’s information, health information, domestic abuse information, and information about third parties.

We will process such information in accordance with applicable data protection law and our Privacy Policy.

Data protection law does not prevent proportionate information sharing where this is necessary to protect a child, adult at risk, client, staff member, contractor, professional, or another person from harm.

Complaints and safeguarding concerns

If you are unhappy with how we have handled a safeguarding issue, you may use our Complaints Procedure.

If your concern involves immediate risk, child protection, adult safeguarding, domestic abuse, police involvement, or serious harm, you should contact the appropriate safeguarding agency, local authority, police, emergency service, or regulated legal adviser as appropriate.

Contact

For non-emergency safeguarding concerns connected with work being undertaken by JSH Law Ltd, contact jessica.hill@jshlaw.co.uk.

For emergencies, use emergency services. For child or adult safeguarding concerns, contact the relevant local authority safeguarding team, police, court, NHS service, domestic abuse service, or other appropriate agency.