James Belderbos Elected to Resolution’s National Committee

We are delighted to share that James Belderbos has been elected to the National Committee of Resolution, the national organisation for family law professionals. Founded in 1982 to make family law less combative, Resolution commits its members to resolving family matters constructively rather than through the courts.

James was elected by fellow Resolution members in May 2026 and is one of four members chosen in that round. He will serve a three year term.

It is a genuine milestone for the practice. Resolution's National Committee is elected by the membership, which means the appointment comes from other family lawyers who know the work, rather than from any application or nomination process. For a firm of this size to have a seat at the national table is notable, and it puts a Leicestershire family solicitor in the discussions that shape family law in England and Wales. We are looking forward to seeing what James brings back over the next three years.

How Did James Come to Join the National Committee?

James trained early on as a collaborative lawyer, a process in which clients and their solicitors sit around one table with their former partner and their solicitor, with both solicitors specifically trained to talk their way towards agreement rather than escalate. It is exactly the approach Resolution exists to promote, so when he attended his first Resolution meeting in Nottingham, he knew he had found the right organisation. He has been a member for around 16 years and joined the Leicestershire Committee in 2022.

The step up to the national table came at other people's prompting. At a Resolution meeting in January this year, fellow members suggested he put himself forward for the National Committee.

What Will James's Role on the National Committee Involve?

The National Committee is made up of practising members who lead Resolution, set its strategy and oversee its finances. Resolution is a company, so those elected to the committee also serve as its directors and take on the statutory responsibilities that come with that.

James will attend meetings across the year, where the focus is on how family law can deliver better outcomes for separating families, and particularly for children. He will continue in his Leicestershire role alongside the national one, and the value of holding both runs in both directions. Thinking from the national table reaches practitioners and families locally, and issues raised in Leicestershire, along with those coming out of this practice, can be taken straight into national discussion.

As the founder of a small practice, James brings a perspective that is not always well represented in those discussions. A great deal of the everyday reality of family law in England and Wales happens in firms like this one, and it matters that the people setting direction understand what that looks like.

A Focus on Cohabitation Reform

The main focus at present is the Ministry of Justice consultation on cohabitation reform, which Resolution is contributing to. Published on 5 June under the title "A fairer end to relationships", it sets out proposals covering financial arrangements when relationships end, including the position of cohabiting couples both on separation and on death.

This is the issue James most wants to see move forward during his term, and it is one where the gap between what people believe and what the law actually says causes real harm. Many couples still assume that living together for long enough creates a "common law marriage", and that they hold broadly the same protections as married couples. They do not, and the consequences of that misunderstanding tend to fall hardest on women.

Resolution has campaigned on cohabitation for years, and pushed harder from 2022 onwards after securing no-fault divorce.

What Does James’s Appointment Mean for Our Clients?

Every Resolution member signs up to a shared Code of Practice, and it shapes every case Belderbos Solicitors handles. Clients are guided towards settlement in the most constructive way available to them, because that approach reduces conflict, reduces cost, and reduces the harm a bitterly fought separation can do to children. Being elected onto the committee that leads the organisation behind that Code reflects how James has worked for years.

It also means he is in regular contact with family lawyers from across the country, so he knows what is coming in terms of reform and best practice, and can act on it for clients here.

None of this is abstract. In one mediation, James was asked to help a separating couple who were heading for a contested court hearing. Over a series of long meetings an agreement was reached and the hearing was avoided altogether. Both parents wanted their child's views to be heard, so James co-mediated alongside a child-inclusive mediator so that the child could be properly listened to. One of the solicitors involved wrote afterwards to say how much distress, as well as cost, the outcome had spared the family.

What Drew James to This Work?

The motivation goes back a long way. James was the child at school who ended up settling arguments between friends, and says he has always simply wanted people to get along. When he first practised family law, it felt less like choosing a legal specialism and more like finding the right fit for how he wanted to work.

He keeps the cards and letters clients send him as a reminder of why he does the job, including one that arrived covered in photographs of a client's Christmas with her daughter, the first she had been able to spend with her in many years.

Reflecting on his appointment, James said: "I never expected my contemporaries to vote me onto the National Committee, so to be chosen by them is a real compliment. I have always admired the people who sit on it.

"What I want from the next three years is straightforward. If I can bring ideas to the committee that end up being put into practice, and if I am still there when cohabitation reform goes through, that is all I would ask.

"The Code of Practice underpins all of this, and I cannot improve on the words in it. What I would add is that when we act for parents, we are also acting for the client who is not in the room, and that is the child or children. Keeping that in mind changes how you handle a case."

Get in Touch

If you would like to talk to us about a family law matter, whether that involves separation, divorce, financial arrangements or arrangements for children, you can email us at admin@belderbossolicitors.co.uk, call us on 01572 490660, or fill in our contact form.

James is also glad to hear from any family law professional in the area who is interested in Resolution or in getting involved with the Leicestershire committee. The committee runs events throughout the year, and James is the first to say that organisations like this can look more intimidating from the outside than they are. He only ended up on the National Committee because other people encouraged him to put himself forward.