In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Ms Smith explained the ins and outs of pet custody law – and revealed why additional training is always a good idea.

“We are the only firm in Australia to have completed the accreditation in a country where pet ownership is at an all-time high. We saw a gap in the market and wanted to be able to offer a unique service to our clients,” she said.

“During the pandemic, there was a huge increase in pet ownership. What we are finding now is that after having spent two years at home with our pets they are now more part of the family than they ever were. The attachment to our pets is far stronger and the question of pet custody is now a prevalent one.”

There were a number of key lessons Ms Smith learnt as part of the course – including the importance of asking the right questions and what shared custody of a pet can look like.

“One of the most valuable aspects of this training was learning how to ask the right questions as they should lead you to the right answers. Many times, what I thought would be best for the pet was actually not. For example, I hadn’t considered the breed or age of the dog as being important factors or whether splitting pets was a good idea or not,” she explained.

“Separating couples, especially those with children, will often share custody of a pet. But having a dog shuttle between households is not always a good idea. We learned how to navigate shared custody – the importance of having a trial period and of allowing the pet to have a longer stay (minimum two weeks) in each household. Changeovers can be incredibly stressful for dogs, in particular. From dogs’ point of view, if a person leaves their life they settle quite quickly. If that person suddenly reappears out of nowhere it’s like Christmas. The emotional excitement of reunion is a huge high for dogs but if a person comes in and out in a random way it can leave the dog on edge.”

This kind of extra training is particularly important for lawyers in all spaces – but especially in family law, according to Ms Smith, who is also a qualified parenting coordinator in Australia.

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Parenting coordination is a child-centred dispute resolution process for separating, divorcing and divorced parents. It gained a reputation in the USA in the 1990s in response to the recognition by family courts, clinicians and academics that divorce does not end patterns of high parental conflict for some families.

“Beyond meeting their continuing professional development (CPD) obligations, family lawyers should keep abreast of contemporary practices, including those that originate overseas, legal technology, and societal changes that impact relationships and families, such as the COVID-induced spike in pet adoption,” Ms Smith added.

“For example, my co-founder and partner Jane Libbis and I are both qualified as parenting coordinators in Australia. It is widely accepted that alternative interventions – such as the engagement of a parenting coordinator – can more effectively resolve child-related disputes while reducing the conflict to which children are exposed.”

Furthermore, extra training can also be good for a law firm’s business and reputation, Ms Smith added.

“Family lawyers tend not to enjoy the repeat business that comes from working for commercial clients. We rely more on word-of-mouth and referral,” she said.  

“Training and accreditations can provide a point of difference and can signal both method and manner which can help clients choose a lawyer who is a good fit and give commercial law firms a reason to recommend us.”

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