Nearly 20 years since the word entered the vocabulary, it seems almost everybody these days has a podcast. But there is always room for one more, so we welcome HM Courts & Tribunals Service to the broadcasting zeitgeist.

In the inaugural 25-minute episode of Inside HMCTS, solicitor Karen Dovaston and HMCTS service manager Izzy Syred discuss the online divorce service.

A podcast by HMCTS about HMCTS isn’t going to focus on much, if any, negativity. But the podcast does mention ‘diehards’ in the legal profession when discussing feedback. ‘Change is always difficult for people,’ said Dovaston, who runs virtual firm Dovaston Law, based in Southend-on-Sea.

Though we don’t think HMCTS’ offer to the podcast realm will set the world alight, the guests were good and the additional speakers – Michelle, who divorced before the reforms, and Crispin, who used the online system – were decent additions. A good thing really; Syred told listeners digital uptake for litigants in person is around 93%. ‘So that’s really high for a digital service,’ she added.

The series promises to ‘give a deeper understanding of what justice means and how it’s delivered’. Despite the advertorial pitch, it is informative and if this first episode helps highlight a necessary service then fair enough.

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