We are proud and genuinely excited to share that Hartley Law is taking a new direction.
Alongside our established commercial legal services, we are preparing to launch a dedicated Family Law service in 2026. This is not a sudden decision, nor a commercial expansion. It is the natural next step in a journey that has been unfolding for some time, shaped by lived experience, advocacy, education and a growing sense of responsibility for the role we play within society.
Over the coming year, this direction will slowly come to life across our business and digital presence as we continue to build, learn and collaborate. The launch itself is still ahead of us, but the work behind it has been years in the making.
Why this matters
We believe the family justice system is in urgent need of change.
Too many survivors and children are still navigating processes that do not fully understand trauma, coercive control, emotional or psychological abuse. Too often, systems prioritise procedure over protection and efficiency over empathy. While progress is being made, it is incremental, and for those living with the consequences of abuse, incremental change is not enough.
We do not believe meaningful reform happens from the sidelines. It requires voices at the table, difficult conversations, and sustained collaboration across disciplines and institutions. That belief has guided much of our work over recent years.
The work that brought us here
Long before we spoke publicly about launching a Family Law service, we were already deeply involved in conversations about how the system must evolve.
Our Founder and CEO, Karenjit Dhaliwal, has spent recent years working beyond the firm to help influence national understanding and policy around domestic abuse and the family courts. As a solicitor, mother and survivor of domestic abuse, she has brought both professional expertise and lived experience into spaces where reform is shaped.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, we have been invited into forums hosted by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, including the Survivor Summit where Karenjit spoke directly to ministers and senior civil servants. These were opportunities not just to share experiences, but to articulate what is structurally failing, particularly around psychological and emotional abuse, coercive control and the silencing of children’s voices.
We have also been present at report launches examining how domestic abuse is currently treated within the family courts, alongside senior Ministry of Justice officials, researchers and members of the judiciary. These discussions reinforced what we have long known: that while recent reforms are welcome, they do not yet go far enough, and that deeper cultural and educational change is still missing.
Alongside this policy engagement, we have worked closely with Refuge, contributing to national campaigns, public discussions and media work aimed at improving understanding of domestic abuse and supporting survivors more effectively.
Learning outside the legal bubble
Our direction has also been shaped by a willingness to look beyond law.
At the Global Trauma Conference hosted by the University of Oxford, Karenjit joined leading experts in trauma, neuroscience and psychology. One of the most striking observations was how few legal professionals were present in conversations that are deeply relevant to family justice. That absence reflects what many survivors experience within the system itself.
These insights have challenged us to think differently about what family law services should look like, and how they should be delivered.
Why we are building this service
For us, this work is personal.
Karenjit’s own experience of leaving an abusive relationship while protecting her young children revealed the gap between legal theory and lived reality. While individual professionals may act with care, the wider system often lacks understanding, cultural awareness and empathy, particularly when abuse is non-physical.
Those experiences, combined with years of advocacy and engagement, have made one thing clear. If we want the system to change, we must also change how we practise within it.
Our Family Law service is being built with that responsibility at its core.
What this will become
Launching in 2026, our Family Law service will focus on supporting individuals navigating separation and divorce in abusive circumstances. It will specialise in domestic abuse and narcissistic behaviours, and will be trauma-informed, culturally aware and inclusive.
We will work collaboratively with aligned professionals including barristers, therapists, forensic accountants and social workers, ensuring our clients are supported holistically and consistently. Our responsibility will not end when legal proceedings conclude. We recognise that recovery often begins after the court process is over.
This service will be available to all genders and will include cultural attuned support.
Being part of something bigger
We see this as part of a wider mission. We are committed to continuing to work with policymakers, charities, researchers and professionals across disciplines to help shape reform from the ground up. We have worked hard to earn a seat at the table, and we will continue to show up, to listen, and to ensure survivor and practitioner voices are heard.
As a certified B Corporation and member of the Better Business Act coalition, we already hold ourselves accountable for the impact we have beyond profit. This new direction reflects that commitment in practice.
Looking ahead
As we build this new service, our core commitment to our commercial clients remains steadfast. We continue to provide high-level strategic advice to the businesses we serve, fuelled by the same values of integrity and excellence that define every part of Hartley Law.
This is not the end of a journey, but the next chapter.
We are proud of the work that has brought us here, and deeply aware of the responsibility that comes with it. Over the coming months, we will share more about how this service takes shape and how our values continue to guide our work.
For now, we wanted to share why this matters to us.
Because the law should serve people.
And because change only happens when we choose to build it.
