Overcoming aggression (from opposing counsel and their clients) By Jerome Doraisamy|20 May 2021 In a practice area as sensitive as family law, lawyers have to be held to a higher standard – one that prioritises sensitivity and compassion rather than conflict and, perhaps, should include additional mandatory training. Perpetua Kish will never forget the time she worked with a particular family law barrister, who she said “wore his courtroom assault on a party as a badge of honour”. Ms Kish – whose Canberra-based practice, Balance Family Law, won Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the 2020 Australian Law Awards – said the barrister adopted such an approach not just to win cases, but to secure new clients.