Hearing Support & McKenzie Friend Services
Remote & In-Person Hearing Preparation
Prepare not only what you want to say, but how you will actually participate when the hearing begins.
A remote hearing from your kitchen table and a contested hearing inside a Family Court building may involve the same case, but they create different practical risks.
JSH Law can help you prepare the papers, speaking points, technology, logistics, participation arrangements and contingency plan so that avoidable practical problems do not distract from the issues the judge needs to hear.
Being legally prepared and being hearing-ready are not quite the same thing.
You may know your case extremely well and still struggle if the hearing link will not open, you cannot find the document the judge is referring to, you arrive at court without knowing where to go, or an unexpected proposal makes you lose your train of thought.
Hearing preparation therefore needs two tracks: the substance of the case and the mechanics of participating effectively.
The aim is not to script every minute. Courts are dynamic. The aim is to give you a reliable structure to return to when the hearing moves in a direction you did not expect.
Is this the right service?
Hearing preparation may be useful if…
Six-part hearing readiness
What needs to be ready before the hearing starts?
1. Purpose
What is this hearing actually listed to decide or manage?
2. Position
What do you want the court to do on each live issue?
3. Papers
Can you find the order, report, statement or bundle page when the judge asks for it?
4. Participation
Is anything likely to make it harder for you to understand, communicate or give evidence effectively?
5. Environment
Is the technology, location or physical court-day plan suitable for the hearing?
6. Contingency
What will you do if the technology fails, a new proposal is raised or you do not understand what is being asked?
Mode of hearing
Family hearings may be attended, remote or partly remote
The mode of hearing is ultimately a judicial decision. Current Family Court guidance requires the court to consider the interests of justice and the circumstances of the particular hearing and participants.
In person
Participants attend the court building and appear physically before the judge. Current Family guidance says contested final hearings and other hearings involving substantive disputed issues should ordinarily be attended.
Fully remote
Participants join by video or telephone rather than attending the hearing venue. The court determines whether remote participation is appropriate.
Partly remote / hybrid
Some participants attend the court building while others join remotely. This can require additional planning for communication and access to documents.
Do not assume the mode will change simply because another arrangement would be more convenient. If you need the court to reconsider how you participate, raise the issue as early as possible.
Remote hearings
Treat a video hearing as court — because it is court
Joining from home does not make the hearing informal. The same need for concentration, privacy, appropriate conduct and accessible documents remains.
Use a suitable device
A laptop or desktop will usually make it easier to see participants and work with court documents than relying on a small phone screen.
Test the platform
Check the court's instructions, browser, camera, microphone and speakers before the hearing day.
Use a private space
Choose somewhere quiet where confidential family proceedings cannot be overheard and interruptions can be minimised.
Organise documents separately
Decide whether you will use a second screen, printed working papers or clearly labelled electronic files.
Know the court contact details
Keep the relevant court or technical-support details accessible in case you cannot connect or are disconnected.
Join in good time
Do not discover at the listed start time that your browser needs updating or your microphone is not recognised.
Remote-hearing checklist
Test the practical setup before the pressure is on
- Check exactly which platform the court has told you to use.
- Test your internet connection, camera, microphone and speakers in advance.
- Make sure the device is charged and keep the charger connected or nearby.
- Close unnecessary applications and notifications that may interrupt the hearing.
- Keep your hearing link and court contact details somewhere you can access even if one device fails.
- Make sure your papers are open, downloaded or printed before you join.
- Position the screen so you can participate comfortably without constantly looking away from the camera.
- Use mute appropriately when you are not speaking.
- Make sure nobody else is present or able to overhear unless their presence has been permitted.
- Plan what you will do if the connection drops.
HMCTS currently recommends using a laptop or desktop for Cloud Video Platform hearings where possible and provides a test facility for camera, microphone and sound.
In-person hearings
Remove avoidable court-day pressure before you leave home
Check the venue
Confirm the court building, hearing time and any instructions in the hearing notice or latest order.
Plan the journey
Build in enough time for travel, locating the correct entrance and court security.
Bring accessible papers
Do not rely on being able to search through hundreds of unlabelled files on your phone while the judge is waiting.
Know the important page references
Mark the latest order, position statements, important reports and documents likely to be discussed.
Consider waiting arrangements
If there are safety, intimidation or domestic-abuse concerns, these should be raised with the court rather than left until you encounter the other party.
Keep your devices silent
Phones and laptops may be useful for papers or notes where permitted, but should not disrupt the hearing.
Participation, vulnerability & safeguarding
If the way the hearing is arranged makes it harder for you to participate, raise that early
Family Procedure Rules Part 3A requires the court to consider vulnerability and, where appropriate, participation directions designed to support effective participation or the giving of evidence.
Where it is stated that a party or witness is, or is at risk of being, a victim of domestic abuse by a relevant person in the proceedings, Part 3A provides for an assumption of vulnerability for these purposes unless the person asks for that assumption not to apply.
Seeing the other party
Participation measures may include arrangements that prevent a party or witness from seeing another participant.
Live-link participation
Remote participation may itself form part of a participation direction where appropriate.
Communication support
Relevant measures can include communication devices or, where directed, intermediary assistance.
Breaks and hearing structure
The way a hearing is structured and timed may also matter to effective participation.
Separate waiting arrangements
Where facilities permit, the court may consider arrangements such as separate waiting areas or routes into the building.
Reasonable adjustments
Disability, health and communication requirements should be identified early so appropriate arrangements can be considered.
JSH Law can help you identify practical participation difficulties and organise the information that may need to be raised with the court. The court decides what directions or measures are required.
Your hearing plan
Reduce the case to something you can actually use while under pressure
Speaking to the court
You do not need to deliver a perfect speech
Litigants in person often imagine that they must speak continuously through a prepared script. In practice, judges may ask questions and move directly to the issues they consider important.
Listen to the question
Answer what the judge has asked before trying to return to another point you wanted to make.
Use short headings
A one-page speaking plan can be easier to use than several pages of scripted prose.
Use page references
If the evidence is already in the bundle, identify it rather than trying to read the whole document aloud.
Ask for clarification
If you genuinely do not understand a question, proposal or direction, say so rather than guessing.
Pause before agreeing
If an unexpected proposal is made, make sure you understand what is being suggested and its practical effect.
Return to the outcome
When discussion becomes complicated, keep sight of what decision or direction is actually required.
When the hearing changes direction
Prepare for uncertainty rather than pretending it will not happen
New proposal
Work out what it actually means before responding simply because you feel pressure to answer immediately.
Missing document
Explain the problem rather than pretending you can locate material you do not have.
Unclear question
Ask for the question to be repeated or clarified where necessary.
Emotional overwhelm
If you genuinely need a break in order to participate effectively, raise that with the court.
Procedural surprise
Identify whether you need time to read or understand new material before taking a position.
Technology failure
Use your backup plan and contact the court promptly rather than simply disappearing from the hearing.
Do not record the hearing yourself
Remote does not mean recordable
Court hearings are subject to strict rules about recording and publication.
HMCTS guidance expressly warns participants not to make their own audio or video recording, take photographs or capture screenshots of a remote hearing.
Similar restrictions apply in court buildings. If you need a record of proceedings, use the proper court process rather than making a private recording.
JSH Law hearing preparation will therefore focus on lawful written note-taking and document management rather than unofficial recording.
What to send
Start with the information that defines the hearing
Latest court order
This usually tells us what the court expects to happen next.
Hearing notice
Useful for confirming date, time, venue or remote format and listed duration.
Current applications
These identify what is formally before the court.
Position statements
These help identify what is agreed and what remains disputed.
Key reports
Cafcass, social-work or expert reports may shape what the judge wants to discuss.
Participation concerns
Tell JSH Law about relevant accessibility, communication, domestic-abuse, safety or practical issues before the hearing day.
What you receive
A practical hearing-readiness plan
Depending on the scope agreed, preparation may include:
- review of the latest order and purpose of the hearing;
- identification of the live issues and likely decisions required;
- preparation of a short hearing plan or speaking framework;
- identification of the orders or directions you want the court to consider;
- identification of important bundle pages and working documents;
- preparation for significant adverse points or professional recommendations;
- remote-hearing technology and environment planning where relevant;
- in-person court-day planning where relevant;
- identification of participation, accessibility or safeguarding issues that may need raising with the court;
- preparation for practical contingencies such as technology failure or an unexpected proposal; and
- clear identification of what you should listen for and record during the hearing.
If the technology fails
Do not assume the court knows why you disappeared
If you cannot connect, lose audio or are disconnected from a remote hearing, try to reconnect and use the court or HMCTS contact details provided for the hearing.
HMCTS guidance tells users to notify the court immediately where technical support cannot resolve the problem.
Keep those contact details somewhere accessible independently of the hearing window. A backup plan prepared in advance is far easier to use than searching through emails while the hearing is already underway.
Common hearing-preparation problems
What creates avoidable difficulty on the day?
How it works
Prepare the hearing from the order outwards
Identify the hearing
Review the latest order, hearing notice, mode of attendance and listed purpose.
Identify what matters
Reduce the case to the live issues, your position, the key documents and the orders sought.
Prepare the environment
Test the remote setup or plan the physical court day, including any participation or safety needs.
Rehearse the difficult points
Practise explaining the position concisely and responding to questions you may find difficult.
Prepare for change
Build a simple contingency plan for technical problems, unexpected proposals and questions you do not immediately understand.
Hearing date approaching?
Start with the latest order — not with rehearsing a speech.
Once we know what the hearing is actually for, we can identify what needs preparing, what documents you need immediately accessible and what practical arrangements should be dealt with before the day.
Book a 15-Minute ConsultationNeed broader hearing help?
This service focuses on practical readiness for the actual hearing
If you need a wider review of the case, evidence, position statement, bundle and overall hearing preparation, use the broader Family Court Hearing Preparation service.
Clear boundaries
Preparation improves readiness. It does not control what happens at the hearing.
JSH Law provides non-reserved legal services, litigation support and McKenzie Friend assistance. JSH Law is not an SRA-authorised solicitors' firm and does not provide regulated solicitor representation or conduct litigation on your behalf.
The court decides the mode, management and outcome of the hearing. JSH Law cannot guarantee that a hearing will remain remote, be converted to an attended hearing, proceed as expected or result in the order sought.
JSH Law can help identify participation or accessibility matters that may require attention, but the court determines whether particular directions or measures should be made.
You remain responsible for attending the hearing, complying with court orders, providing accurate factual instructions and conducting your proceedings unless a particular lawful task has expressly been agreed.
Focused hearing preparation
Prepare for the hearing without automatically booking court attendance
You can book hearing-preparation support as a standalone service even if you intend to attend court alone.
The amount of work depends on the type of hearing, the complexity of the issues, the state of the papers and whether position statements, speaking notes or other documents also need attention.
If you separately book JSH Law to attend the hearing as a McKenzie Friend, court attendance is charged at the applicable £150 per hour rate under the agreed scope.
Where the preparation task and document volume can be defined clearly, a fixed-fee quote may be available.
Urgent preparation is subject to availability. Tell JSH Law the hearing date and any filing deadline at the outset.
View PricingHearing coming up?
Book a 15-minute consultation
Tell me the hearing date, the type of hearing, whether it is currently listed as remote, hybrid or in person, and what you are most concerned about.
If possible, have the latest order and hearing notice available. Those normally tell us more about the preparation required than the entire historic case file.
Choose a convenient time
Include the hearing date, mode of attendance, court and any filing deadline in your booking notes.
Your enquiry will be handled in accordance with the JSH Law Privacy Policy .
Official guidance
Remote participation & vulnerable parties
The mode of a family hearing and any participation measures are matters for the court. Current official guidance should be checked alongside the order made in the individual case.
Judiciary — Remote Participation Guidance →
HMCTS — What to Expect at a Telephone or Video Hearing →
HMCTS — How to Join a Cloud Video Platform Hearing →
Family Procedure Rules Part 3A — Vulnerable Persons & Participation →
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