Who writes this site
Jess Knauf is Director of Client Strategy at Family Legal Ltd and writes the content on Legal Aid 60. She has spent more than six years working in family mediation and is an Associate Member of Resolution. She is not a solicitor, a barrister or an accredited mediator, and this site never suggests otherwise.
In short
- Role: Director of Client Strategy, Family Legal Ltd
- Experience: more than six years in family mediation, from client support through to director
- Professional body: Associate Member of Resolution
- Not: a solicitor, a barrister or an FMC accredited mediator
- Writes: all content on this site, reviewed by Belinda Atkins
What she does
Jess leads client strategy at Mediate UK, which is the family mediation service operated by the same company as this website. That means listening to what clients actually ask, improving how they are dealt with, and answering the questions people most often have about separation and divorce.
The writing comes out of that. Most of what is on Legal Aid 60 exists because the same questions kept arriving from people who had been told something wrong, or told nothing at all: that legal aid was abolished, that you need evidence of abuse to mediate, that owning a house rules you out.
She co-founded Family Law Service and has worked on developing an AI family law assistant. She has also published research on family justice and digital reform.
What she writes about here
- The two legal aid schemes and why they are constantly confused: the overview
- MIAMs and how mediation is funded: mediation legal aid and the voucher
- The means test and what actually gets counted: the means test
- Financial disclosure and settlements: legal aid for financial settlements
- Court processes in England and Wales, and where they cost money
What this means for what you read
Jess is not legally qualified, and nothing on this site is legal advice. That is precisely why every factual claim here is sourced to the legislation, the Legal Aid Agency or GOV.UK, and linked at the point the claim is made rather than in a list at the bottom.
You should not have to trust the author. You should be able to check. Every source we use, with the date it was last checked.
Elsewhere
Jess’s full profile is on the Mediate UK website: About Jess Knauf.
Content on this site is reviewed by Belinda Atkins. How we work is set out in our editorial policy, and what we do when we get something wrong is in our corrections policy.