AI, Accessibility and Family Proceedings: A Turning Point for Family Justice?

The family justice system is built around some of the most emotionally difficult and life-changing decisions a person can face. Yet for many parents involved in care proceedings, understanding what is happening and why can feel almost impossible.

This challenge is particularly acute for vulnerable clients, including individuals with learning difficulties, cognitive impairments, or neurodivergent individuals. Legal terminology, lengthy judgments, and formal correspondence can all create barriers to meaningful participation in proceedings at precisely the moment when clarity matters most.

Recent developments within the Family Court suggest that the judiciary is beginning to explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help improve accessibility and understanding. There have been a number of Guides provided to the Judiciary over the use of AI; the latest was published in October 2025 and can be read here.

Re B [2026] EWFC 107 – AI Used to Improve Understanding

In the recent case of Re B (Fact Finding: Use of AI for Judgment Summary for Parents with Learning Difficulties) [2026] EWFC 107, Her Honour Judge Hesford took the unusual step of using a secure judicial AI application to create simplified summaries of her decision for the parents involved in the proceedings.

The case concerned public law care proceedings relating to a young child (aged 2) who had suffered serious injuries while in the care of her biological parents. The judgment identified that both parents experienced significant cognitive difficulties, affecting their ability to process and retain complex information. Within the judgment, there is reference to the parents having “been assessed by psychologists, intermediaries and an independent social worker”. HHJ Hesford, therefore, clearly had extensive information about the parents' cognitive difficulties.

Rather than simply handing down the formal judgment that we are all used to reading, the Judge produced additional simplified versions using a secure AI tool based on Microsoft Copilot. Importantly, the AI was not used to make the judicial decision itself. Instead, it was used to effectively translate the judgment into clearer, more accessible language.

These alternative summaries were appended to the judgment (Appendix 1 – Summary Judgment and Appendix 2 – Bullet Point Judgment). The second even included emojis.

It was reported by the Gazette that all advocates agreed that the summaries were “immensely useful” in helping the parents understand the outcome and reasoning behind the Judge’s decision.

A Wider Shift Towards Accessible Justice

While this may be one of the first reported examples of judicial AI being used in this way, the principle itself is not entirely new.

The Family Court has increasingly recognised the importance of communicating judgments in a way that parties, especially vulnerable parties, can genuinely understand. Earlier examples include judgments written in simplified language for parents with learning difficulties and child-focused letters explaining court decisions directly to children.

What makes Re B particularly significant is the acknowledgement that AI may now assist with that accessibility exercise at scale, and with significant speed. HHJ Hesford would not have needed to spend hours re-dictating or re-typing her judgment; her careful instructions to AI would have enabled the 2 different versions to be created in minutes.

Accessible communication is not simply a “nice to have”, it is central to procedural fairness and meaningful participation. Usually, the burden falls to the lawyers to explain matters to a client, but in this case, the Judge helped with that.

The Role of Legal Technology

For legal professionals, these developments raise an important question: how can technology be used responsibly to support clearer communication without losing accuracy, empathy, or professional oversight?

As part of my role within LEAP, I have looked at how we can use our tools, notably prompts, to be able to assist this area.

Earlier this year, there was a combined effort between the Family and Estates teams to develop an AI prompt specifically designed to help transform legal correspondence and documents into language that may be easier for neurodivergent individuals and vulnerable clients to understand. The aim is not to dilute legal advice or replace professional judgment, but to improve comprehension and engagement.

In practice, this can help solicitors:

• communicate more clearly with vulnerable clients;

• reduce misunderstanding and confusion;

• encourage greater client participation;

• improve trust and collaboration; and

• support trauma-informed legal practice.

For clients, clearer communication can help them feel more involved in their matter and less overwhelmed by proceedings that are already emotionally difficult.

In areas such as family law and, in particular, care proceedings, where clients may already feel powerless, this has the potential to make a meaningful difference.

Looking Ahead

This case demonstrates that when carefully supervised, securely implemented, and used for appropriate purposes, AI may offer valuable support in improving accessibility and understanding within the justice system.

The use of AI in family proceedings is still evolving, but Re B may prove to be an important milestone in the wider conversation about accessibility and participation in justice.

For solicitors and legal technology providers alike, the challenge is clear: legal communication must not only be accurate, but it must also be understandable.

If AI can help bridge that gap responsibly, then it may become an important tool in making the justice system more humane, inclusive, and accessible for the people who need it most.

About the author

With over 20 years’ experience in Family Law, including as a former Partner at Brethertons LLP, Katie Phillips brings deep expertise in complex divorce, financial remedy, and children law cases. As Head of Family Law at LEAP Legal Software, she combines her practical legal experience with a passion for innovation, helping family law firms harness technology to work smarter, enhance client care, and navigate the evolving justice system.

Sources

Re B (Fact Finding: Use of AI for Judgment Summary for Parents with Learning Difficulties) [2026] EWFC 107

Law Gazette: “Judge turns to AI to help parents understand decision”