Michael Freeman and the Rights and Wrongs of Resolving Private Law Disputes

This chapter examines some of Freeman’s ideas and the extent to which they have been incorporated into the family law landscape. It argues that, while Freeman was prescient in predicting some of the ways in which family law would change, and while some of his hopes have been realised, they have not always been realised in the way he intended or, indeed, in ways he could have foreseen. Some of these changes have brought about consequences detrimental to vulnerable family members. These effects, when anticipated by government, have been ‘unproclaimed’ and minimised. In other cases, the consequences of changes to the law have been unintended. And the response of government has been to redouble its efforts and to seek a solution in yet more legislation