All Things Family Law

Dispute Resolution (DR) week….hmmmm. DR week is   an awareness-raising week which aims to highlight the alternatives to court for separating couples and their families http://www.resolution.org.uk/DisputeResolutionWeek2014/ Firstly, for the avoidance of doubt, I absolutely encourage people to seek to resolve matters in a dignified and cost effective way. I think this is a really good initiative. I am also a member of Resolution (an organisation of family lawyers who subscribe to a code of practice to resolve matters in a non-confrontational way) and I sit on one of the committees. I also believe all cases should be approached in this manner. I am interested, however, to know exactly the extent of the impact of DR week on people presently going through the court process. It is a bit like pancake day- you eat them for one day - but will you eat pancakes all year round? The reality is that any family solicitor worth their salt will explore methods of dispute resolution

For some time now I have advocated the need for the profession to implement a more flexible and modern way of charging legal fees. There is a growing dissatisfaction amongst the public with the traditional way of structuring legal costs. Clients, understandably in my view, are craving more certainty with what a divorce is going to cost. The problem exists in the very nature of the proceedings. Decisions made in divorce and family law cases are often shrouded by emotion. A difficult opponent, intent on making sure his or her spouse does not receive a fair share of the assets, does nothing to dilute this toxic mix. Throw in expert fees and suddenly you have a recipe for growing costs. Against this background it remains very difficult for a family lawyer to provide a truly accurate estimate at the outset. Indeed, and this is one of my ‘pet hates’, a sharp practice has developed amongst some firms who will underestimate at the outset to secure the instructions of the client only for