Rachel Frost-Smith is head of children at Birketts. She is a children arbitrator, solicitor-advocate (higher rights, civil proceedings), and a Resolution-accredited specialist (private law children and private law children advocacy). Rachel leads the private children practice at Birketts, drawing upon the breadth and strength of the family team across our offices. The family team at Birketts includes ADR practitioners, and advocates, with experience in both private and public children law, modern families and international cases.
What was your career path to your current role?
I have had an unusual career path. I lived in Africa as a young child where there was no TV, and so I roamed outside and read books. As a teenager in Yorkshire, I worked in my parents’ shop and developed fast mental maths on the till.
I was the first in my family to go to university, where I read law and absolutely loved it. I did articles (a training contract) with Linklaters and qualified into its corporate tax team. I really enjoyed a speciality with a heavy emphasis on the interpretation of statutes and caselaw. I moved to live in Hong Kong when I was two years PQE and worked for Price Waterhouse as in-house counsel, advising multi-national companies on global tax planning. During this time, I set up a magazine and delivered in-house and external training. I was fortunate to travel widely in Asia.
I then had an extended time away from paid work while I continued to live abroad (Japan after Hong Kong), before returning to England. While bringing up four children I volunteered, and in so doing acquired new skills and assisted my eventual re-entry to the workplace. I was an appropriate adult, working with children and vulnerable people in custody, assisted refugees in my work with the Red Cross, was responsible for safeguarding as part of my role as chair of the minis section of a rugby club, and chaired the parents’ association of an independent day school.
I became involved with family law by supporting an acquaintance at court. I retrained and I am now head of children at Birketts LLP. Last year, I qualified as a children arbitrator.
Do you have any other career ambitions?
To apply to become a deputy district judge. I would very much like to be able to put my experience to good use in public service. I am keen to get experience as an arbitrator and have volunteered for a pro-bono arbitration project. I have toyed with doing a Ph.D.
What keeps you motivated in your work?
Every day I learn something new. I love my work. I enjoy mentoring junior colleagues, and I learn as much from them as they hopefully do from me. I specialise in complex children cases that walk the tightrope with public law involvement. Most of my cases involve serious allegations of some sort, possibly concurrent criminal investigations and proceedings, parents struggling with mental ill-health, and addiction. While this is challenging work, I hope that my involvement will assist in trying to reach an arrangement that is in the best interests of the children. I enjoy working alongside experienced counsel on these cases.
I also do a fair amount of advocacy, and I do feel court is a natural habitat for me. I always remind myself though of how stressful it is for others and try to make sure everything is in place to support clients at court. I am motivated because I am passionate about what I do. I could clearly have earned more money in a different sector, but realised fairly early on that this is not what drives me as a person.
What has been the best development in family law in the last 20 years?
The growing levels of understanding about the nature of domestic abuse. We are still very much in the foothills of understanding, but things have improved in so far as the enactment of legislation like the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, a move away from short schedules of allegations which did not demonstrate patterns of control and behaviour, and the introduction of PD12J.
And the worst?
The cuts to legal aid have had an appalling impact on the family court system and on children who are the adults of tomorrow. Many litigants are forced to represent themselves, leading to cases taking far longer to hear and consequently more delays in proceedings.
If you could bring in one new piece of legislation for the sector, what would it be and why?
I would establish specialist domestic abuse courts where the lawyers and professionals were all trained to understand the nature of domestic abuse, its impact on victims (including children) and where there was a higher degree of professional expert intervention. The current system retraumatises victims, pressurises them to provide information and evidence in a way that they simply cannot when they are emerging from an abusive relationship and often allows arrangements that continue to place them in emotional, psychological and physical danger.
What piece of legislation would you take off the statute books and why?
The provisions about annulling a marriage – they are positively medieval, relying on factual elements including non-consummation.
What’s the best advice anyone gave to you regarding your career?
Don’t write a letter that is more than a page long and write it in plain English.
What advice would you like to give someone starting out?
Learn from all your experiences. It doesn’t matter if someone else would say they are a success, a failure, an error or a triumph. I call them all learning experiences and spend time reflecting on what I can learn from them going forwards.
Tell us something people may be surprised to know about you…
There is quite a bit, but not that can go in print! Let’s just say that I know the words to a lot of songs and sing them badly.
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