Book overview
So You Want To Be A Family Lawyer is the book that nobody hands you when you start out - the one that tells you what the law degree didn't, what the training contract glossed over, and what your senior partner forgot they ever needed to know.
Warm, funny, and thoroughly practical, this is a mentorship in book form: 100 tips across ten chapters, covering everything from your first terrifying client meeting to your hundredth court appearance, from decoding a Form E to surviving an FDR with your composure intact.
You'll learn why the welfare checklist is not a formality, why conduct is rarely as relevant as your clients think, and why the court staff know things no amount of legal training will teach you. You'll be reminded that vicarious trauma is real, that clean breaks are usually preferable but not always, and that calling a High Court Judge "Your Honour" won't end your career - but it is the kind of thing one notices.
Whether you are a law student working out if family law is for you, a trainee about to qualify, or a junior solicitor wondering if what you're feeling is normal - it is, by the way, entirely normal - this book will make you feel less alone, better prepared, and quietly more confident about the work ahead.
The families you will help are waiting. This is how you get ready for them.
