"Every other major court change has been made after a pilot-project trial period, but here we could see a Family Court system, which has been in place for 30 years, ended with the stroke of a pen.
"The Government, which seems hellbent on saving money, has forgotten the human element. This is not about us [lawyers], it's about the most vulnerable people in our community, our children, and other users of the court," she said
Ms McCarty said the bill took away legal safeguards for children at the centre of family proceedings.
"We accept there has been a huge blowout in legal aid costs but simply throwing the baby out with the bath water is not the answer,"she said.
Andrew Little, Labour's Justice spokesman, who met the group of lawyers this week, opposed the Bill.
One senior Tauranga family court lawyer said the review was "absolutely frightening", as it could leave vulnerable parties, particularly children, without legal protection.
Mr Little said far from providing a better process for parents separating and protecting vulnerable parties going through one of the most stressful times in their lives, the bill did the reverse.
"The expectation that parents will be able to, with the assistance of a single facilitator and without the benefit of legal advice, happily come together to settle their differences and quickly reach an agreement is unrealistic. Particularly when separating parents will each have a different view about what was best for their child," he said.
Mr Little said under the system only about 15 per cent of cases required a court hearing. "There is no doubt in my mind the changes are driven by fiscal considerations, and the Government has forgotten the human factors and complexities involved in settling custody disputes," he said.
Justice Minister Judith Collins said the cost of running the Family Court was rising and unsustainable.
Since July 2005, there had been a 63 per cent increase in expenditure for the court to $137 million-plus, but application numbers remained relatively stable and cases were taking longer on average to conclude. The Bill has gone through its second reading.
The 59 Family Courts in New Zealand deal with a range of issues, including:
Care of children by separating parents
Care and protection issues from abuse or neglect
Child abduction
Domestic violence
Paternity issues
Relationship property
Separation and divorce dissolution
