Michaela Wade Family Law is featured in the Everyman Justice McKenzie Friend Guide, a growing interview-based guide to McKenzie Friends and family court support professionals across England and Wales.
The aim of the guide is to help parents and litigants in person see the real people behind family court support. Every McKenzie Friend works differently. Michaela Wade brings a very distinctive style: direct, funny, sharp, practical and human.
This interview is part of the wider Everyman Justice McKenzie Friend Guide, which helps people compare different approaches to family court support before deciding what kind of help may be right for them.
Watch or listen to the full conversation:
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Family court support with personality
Michaela Wade runs Michaela Wade Law, supporting people who are representing themselves in family court. Her work includes child arrangements, domestic abuse, financial remedy proceedings, Cafcass issues, court preparation and family court hearings.
What makes Michaela stand out is her communication style. She does not sound like a traditional law firm brochure. She explains serious family court issues in plain English, often with humour, but without losing the seriousness of what people are facing.
In the interview, Michaela explained why people often arrive in family court overwhelmed:
“People don’t want to wake up wanting to become experts in family law. They’re there because their family has fallen apart.”
That sentence captures the whole tone of the conversation. Family court is not simply paperwork or procedure. For many parents, it is fear, uncertainty, pressure and confusion at one of the most difficult points in their life.
Why this interview belongs in the McKenzie Friend Guide
The Everyman Justice McKenzie Friend Guide is not just a list of names. It is designed to help the public understand how different McKenzie Friends think, communicate and support people through family court.
This matters because choosing a McKenzie Friend is not only about price, location or a website. Personality, judgement, experience and communication style all matter.
Michaela’s interview gives listeners a clear sense of her approach. She is direct, energetic and plain-speaking. She does not present family court as easy, but she does explain it in a way ordinary people can understand.
For parents comparing McKenzie Friends or family court support providers, this kind of long-form conversation can be more useful than a short profile. It allows people to hear how someone thinks, how they explain difficult issues, and what kind of support they may offer.
What we discussed
In this conversation, we discussed Michaela’s route into family court support, what has changed over the last twenty years, and why family court can feel so intimidating for ordinary people.
Michaela spoke about the change in public information. Twenty years ago, people often had very little accessible guidance. Now they arrive having watched TikTok, YouTube, Facebook content, podcasts and AI-generated information. That can help, but it can also create confusion when the information is not right for their case.
A major part of the conversation focused on fear. Michaela explained that many parents are not really asking technical legal questions. They are asking whether they are going to survive emotionally.
We also discussed:
- what a McKenzie Friend can offer compared with a solicitor;
- why the client remains central to their own case;
- how litigants in person can handle pressure when the other side has solicitors or barristers;
- why Cafcass creates so much fear;
- the biggest mistakes parents make in family court;
- why parents become obsessed with whether the court will “see through the lies”;
- what a “win” really means in family court;
- what happens when a client may not be telling the full truth;
- whether clients stay in touch after the case;
- financial cases and suspected hidden assets;
- international financial issues;
- professional indemnity insurance;
- AI, public education and the future of family court support.
A few moments from the conversation
When discussing the role of a McKenzie Friend, Michaela explained that the client remains central to the case:
“I’m not the case, the solicitor’s not the case, the barrister isn’t the case, the client is the case.”
She also explained why support is still needed. A parent may know the full history, but that does not automatically mean they know how to present it to the court:
“What I bring them is perspective.”
This is one of the key reasons a McKenzie Friend can be helpful. Family court has its own language, structure and expectations. Michaela described part of her role as translating that process into something the client can understand.
On preparation, Michaela gave one of the clearest lines of the interview:
“Preparation beats panic every time.”
That point came up repeatedly. Parents often feel overwhelmed by solicitors, barristers, Cafcass, reports, allegations, court orders and deadlines. Michaela’s view is that good preparation can bring anxiety down and help people become more focused.
Speaking about Cafcass, Michaela explained that many parents feel they are being trapped or tested. Her answer was more practical:
“Cafcass are simply trying to understand risk and understand the child.”
That does not mean every parent will agree with Cafcass, or that every experience will feel fair. But it does help explain why preparation, focus and child-centred communication matter before speaking to professionals.
One of the strongest parts of the interview was about parents asking whether the court will see through lies. Michaela explained that family court is not there to award points:
“The judge isn’t there to award points, they’re asking, what arrangements are best for this child?”
This is a difficult but important point. Parents may feel that the lies, history and emotional injustice are the whole case. The court may be dealing with a narrower issue at that stage, such as directions, reports, evidence or the next practical step.
When asked about “win rate”, Michaela pushed back against the idea that family court works like sport:
“Family court isn’t football.”
She explained that a win may not always look like one parent getting everything they asked for. Sometimes a win is being heard, understanding what is happening, or being able to move on to the next chapter of life.
Financial cases and hidden assets
The interview also covered financial remedy and suspected hidden assets.
Before working in family law, Michaela worked in fraud investigation. That background came through strongly when discussing financial cases. Her advice was not to start with accusation, but to start with evidence.
She explained that where assets may be hidden, the first step is often to look carefully at whether the lifestyle matches the income, whether bank statements raise questions, whether property or company information can be checked, and whether inconsistencies can be identified.
Her practical phrase was:
“Follow the money, follow the trail.”
This part of the conversation may be useful for people involved in financial remedy proceedings, especially where there are concerns about hidden income, property, pensions, business interests or assets outside the UK.
Michaela was also clear that some cases become too complex for one person alone. In more serious financial cases, a person may need help from solicitors, barristers, forensic accountants, foreign lawyers or other specialists.
Professional indemnity insurance and trust
We also discussed professional indemnity insurance.
This is often mentioned as a safeguard when people choose a McKenzie Friend or family court support provider. Michaela’s view was that insurance can be part of the picture, but it is not the whole picture.
Her wider point was that clients often do not ask technical questions about insurance or qualifications. They usually want to know whether someone can actually help them, whether they feel understood, and whether the person has the experience and judgement to guide them.
That does not mean safeguards are unimportant. It means parents should understand what safeguards do and do not prove. Insurance, reviews, experience, public reputation and communication style should all be considered carefully.
AI and family court preparation
Michaela was positive about AI, but also realistic about its limits.
She explained that AI can help make information more accessible, help draft documents, help parents understand the process and help people prepare. She also said legal professionals themselves are already using AI.
But she gave an important warning:
“AI cannot replace judgment.”
She also said:
“It can’t read a room.”
That is one of the most useful points in the interview. AI may help someone draft or organise material, but it cannot understand fear in the same way a real person can. It cannot always judge what matters at a particular hearing, what should be left out, or how a parent is coming across.
Michaela also warned that AI can create long, generic and unfocused statements. Her point was that if someone does not know what to ask, they may not get the right output.
Why this interview may be useful
This interview may be useful for anyone who is representing themselves in family court and wants to understand what family court support can look like in practice.
It may be especially useful if you are dealing with Cafcass, preparing for a hearing, trying to understand the role of a McKenzie Friend, or feeling intimidated because the other side has legal representation.
It may also help people who are comparing different McKenzie Friends in England and Wales. Michaela’s style is clear and direct. That may suit some people very well, especially those who want plain-English guidance and someone who is willing to speak honestly.
Near the end of the interview, Michaela gave a simple message for people going to family court for the first time:
“People only need to know the next step. They don’t need to know everything.”
She also added:
“They don’t have to be perfect, they just need to be prepared.”
That is a useful summary of the conversation. Family court can feel frightening, but the next step often matters more than trying to understand everything at once.
This interview is not legal advice on any individual case. It is a general discussion about family court support, McKenzie Friends, litigants in person and the reality of preparing for family court.
About Michaela Wade Family Law
Michaela Wade Family Law provides family court support and practical guidance to people navigating separation, divorce and family court proceedings.
Website:
Michaela Wade Family Law
Email
michaela@michaelawadelaw.co.uk
Looking for family court support?
If you are representing yourself in the family court, you can explore the rest of the Everyman Justice McKenzie Friend Guide to hear from different McKenzie Friends and family court professionals.
You can also visit the Everyman Justice support pages for more information about McKenzie Friend support, Cafcass preparation, child arrangements and financial remedy support.
Everyman Justice provides practical McKenzie Friend support for people representing themselves in family court across England and Wales.