Claire Molyneux

Specialisms

Claire spent many years as a family solicitor with a national law firm, assisting separating couples resolve both their financial and child arrangements. Claire particularly assisted parents, supporting them through complex court proceedings, often involving a background of domestic abuse, addiction or chronic conflict, as well as working to help parents make arrangements using dispute resolution processes.

In 2018, Claire trained as one of the country’s first parenting co-ordinators. In this role, she supports parents stuck in longer-term conflict to work together collaboratively to implement the terms of their court order (or a parenting agreement). Claire helped create the website https://parentingcoordinators.co.uk and regularly produces blogs for that site. In 2020, Claire created the Family Lawyers’ Charter. The charter encourages parents and their lawyers to work collaboratively towards positive arrangements for children and is featured on the Family Solutions Group website: Voluntary-charter-for-family-lawyers-helping-parents-to-make-post-separation-arrangements-for-their-children.pdf

Over the years, Claire has regularly written blogs, legal journal articles and trained other family solicitors or professionals about private child law and related topics, such as domestic abuse.

Training and employment background

Until recently, Claire worked in part-time positions both as a consultant for a national law firm and for The Family Mediation Trust. She has recently transitioned predominantly to work as a mediator with The Trust, as well as working with parents as a divorce coach: Home | Healthy Family Separation Coaching. Claire worked for her previous employer for 19 year and hopes now that she can tot up as many years working with The Family Mediation Trust!

Claire says:

“I know from the published research in this area that children do much better in the immediate and longer term if their parents have managed to work together mindfully and co-operatively from the outset with their children’s best interests in mind. Although no-one would suggest it is anything but hard work to build a positive co-parenting relationship after separation, knowing that the family’s adult children of the future will be better placed to acknowledge their parents put their needs first in the separation makes the work I do feel really meaningful and worthwhile.”