With so many solicitors offering family law services, choosing the right firm to represent you can be far from straightforward. To help you decide here are some of the things you should look for.
• Personal Recommendations
By far the best way of finding a good solicitor to represent you in relation to separation and divorce is to obtain a personal recommendation. Speak to friends, family and colleagues to see if they have personal knowledge. It’s best to get an individual’s name. You might be able to have a no cost, no obligation chat on the telephone before committing to an appointment.
One way of comparing firms which have been recommended is to look at their websites. Are they informative and up to date? Is Family Law a core part of their business?
• Make sure the solicitor is a specialist Family Lawyer
The area of family law is fast moving and only a solicitor who spends all their time working in this field can stay abreast of all the developments. The two legal directories, Chambers and Legal 500, give details of leading departments and individuals and is available on line.
• Find a solicitor who will adopt a constructive approach
Solicitors who are members of Resolution are committed to resolving disputes in a non-confrontational way.
• Make sure the solicitor offers value for money
It is important to ensure that you can tap into the knowledge and experience of a more senior solicitor. However, some of the work can be done by another person who may be less qualified and have less experience and who therefore charges less. Choose a firm which has a reasonably large family department with people of different seniority.
Don’t be tempted to choose what might appear to be a less expensive solicitor at the expense of expertise and quality. A good solicitor might be able to do the same job in half the time. In any event, a poor job could cost you more in the long run.
Firms which offer a quality service will usually have some kind of quality accreditation.
• Access to other areas of expertise
Divorce can throw up issues in other areas of law, eg in relation to property, Wills, businesses etc. Choose a firm which offers a range of services so that you and your divorce lawyer will have easy access to the expertise of solicitors in other fields. Consider also whether access to independent financial advice within the same firm would be a useful addition.
• Geography
Don’t necessarily limit yourself to firms within your locality. Most work can now be done remotely by telephone and email. Solicitors are often willing to travel to see you for an initial or subsequent meetings.
Many provincial firms can offer the same quality of advice at half or even one third of the rates of London lawyers and they often instruct the same barristers and other experts and appear in the same Courts.
If you would like to speak to one of the family law solicitors at Blandy & Blandy and find out what we can offer you, please phone 0118 951 6800 or email family@blandy.co.uk
“You can’t go wrong with Blandy & Blandy.” This Reading-based firm houses one of the largest family teams in the Thames Valley. More than half the team is collaboratively trained and it has several trained mediators on staff, so it provides clients with a range of methods to resolve disputes.
The team’s skills in matrimonial finance matters and work involving children’s issues have won it a large following, extending into London. The firm is also increasingly drawing in international work, advising on complicated jurisdictional issues.
Clients are impressed by its ability to offer effective advice at reasonable prices. Andrew Don wins admiration for “his no-nonsense, straightforward approach.” This, in addition to his many years of experience, has cemented his reputation as one of the top family lawyers in the region.
Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession - 2009
