Solicitor required due to expansion, specialising in Matrimonial & Family Law (predominantly ancillary relief, no legal aid)

Reeds Family Law Solicitors are looking for an enthusiastic and well organised individual whose priorities are exceptional client care.

Can you answer YES to the following?

1. 5 years P.Q.E.
2. High achiever
3. Do you always meet your fee target?
4. Do you have excellent technical knowledge of matrimonial procedures?
5. Can you always deliver 100% service to clients, achieving excellent feedback?

If the answer is yes to the above, then we would be interested in talking to you.

Excellent renumeration package & genuine long term prospects with a view to Partnership to the right candidate.

Please email CV and cover letter to Debra Stevens. Address details can be found on our contact us page

It has now been confirmed by the LSC that parties who have already been issued a CLSAPP7, including one based on the other party’s unwillingness to attend an assessment meeting do not have to attend a further Mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM) provided the CLSAPP7 is less than 4 months old.

If you would like some further information about this then please do get in touch.

Divorcing couples to go through mediation before court…

BBC news today

reports that the government is to reduce the Legal Aid budget by 75% and that divorcing and separating couples are now to go through mediation before being allowed to issue Court Proceedings.

Article here or read below…

“Jonathan Djanogly says mediation could reduce acrimony and save money. Divorcing couples will be referred to mediation to sort out most disputes before they are allowed to use the courts, the government is announcing. Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said mediation was “a quicker, cheaper and more amicable alternative” to the over-worked family courts.

The move over child custody and financial disputes follows a Family Justice Review recommendation. The measures for England and Wales will come into force on 6 April. However, cases involving domestic violence or child protection issues will still go to court.

Mr Djanogly said: “Nearly every time I ask someone if their stressful divorce battle through the courts was worth it, their answer is ‘no’. “Mediation already helps thousands of legally aided people across England and Wales every year, but I am concerned those funding their own court actions are missing out on the benefits it can bring.

Jonathan Djanogly Justice Minister said “Our proposals aim to radically reform the system and encourage people to take advantage of the most appropriate sources of help, advice or routes to resolution – which will not always involve the expense of lawyers or courts” “Now everyone will have the opportunity to see if [mediation] could be a better solution than going straight to court.”

Under the change, anyone wanting to use the courts will have to undergo a compulsory mediation assessment session first.   If mediation is not a workable option, for example one party refuses to take part in it, the case can proceed to court. However, the government is proposing to cut legal aid for many separating couples and that means that if they cannot mediate after their compulsory assessment, they will have to pay for legal advice and court representation. Some lawyers have argued that will amount to a denial of access to justice.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the courts should not get involved in varying parental contact days or other minor disputes.The ministry said 137,000 divorce cases were dealt with in 2009, up by 16%. The cost per client of mediation is £535, compared with £2,823 for court costs and the National Audit Office also found mediation was quicker – 110 days, compared with 435 days for court cases.

Last year David Norgrove, chairman of the Whitehall review, said there was a “tremendous strain” on the system which was “really intolerable” for the children of divorced parents. Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke recently announced plans to scrap civil legal aid [from 6 April 2012] for a range of cases. Mr Djanogly pointed out that the legal aid bill in England and Wales – £2bn a year – is far higher than in most other countries.

He said: “Our proposals aim to radically reform the system and encourage people to take advantage of the most appropriate sources of help, advice or routes to resolution – which will not always involve the expense of lawyers or courts.”

If you would like to find out more about Mediation please visit our Mediation website.

As from 1 April 2011 legal aid will no longer be available for family proceedings for divorce and other types of family cases for example where absent parents and grandparents wish to make an application to the court for contact to children. However, legal aid will still be available for parties to resolve their dispute by using mediation. In addition, it will also be a compulsory requirement for all parties wishing to issue any type of family proceedings to have attended a mediation information meeting (and to provide proof) with no exceptions.
What then is mediation? And who are mediators?

Some mediators are solicitors who have done additional training and obtained qualification as a mediator. Some mediators come from a counselling or therapaeutic backgrounds. The mediator’s role is to assist the parties in discussing the issues in dispute. Legal advice is not given in the meetings, only legal information where necessary. You would still need to seek the advice of a solicitor if you required legal advice. Depending upon the dispute, it may be that the parties don’t need legal advice as they simply wish to agree arrangements to see their children following separation. If the mediation meeting is to resolve financial matters resulting from the breakdown of a divorce then both parties would benefit from legal advice as matters are clearly more complex.

Much thought and research has gone into the decision to make attending a mediation information meeting compulsory before court proceedings are issued as it is often the case that if the parties had sat down and discussed matters at the outset then a lot of time and expense on legal fees could have been saved.

On BBC news today the question is posed as to whether mediation could replace solicitors? This is simply not possible as mediators do not give legal advice. There is always a need for legal advice. What there isn’t really a need for is pointless and expensive legal proceedings. The aim of the new legislation is to force people to consider resolving their disputes without the need of going to court and maintain a more civilised relationship between the parties. This can only be a good thing for everyone involved in any type of family breakdown.

If the points in this article have answered or indeed raised any questions in your mind then do get in touch, our sympathetic team are on hand to help answer any queries.

Christmas is a very difficult time for separated parents and their children,
particularly the first year. It is important that both parents put their own needs
aside and concentrate upon what will make Christmas magical for their children.
After all, they are not getting divorced from their parents and will still want to
spend time with both of you. They are the good thing that came out of your
relationship and your time with them should always be positive.

The week before Christmas every year I end up in court arguing about how much
time children should spend with their respective parents over the Christmas
holidays. Court hearings at this time are highly emotionally charged for both
parents and extremely stressful for the professionals involved. The Judges are
sympathetic to both parents but cannot wave a magic wand and heal the pain that
both parents are going through due to their separation.

Mediation is always available for parents to sit down and talk things through but
once the dispute ends up in court it is left for the Judge to make crucial decisions
about your life that you should be making yourself.

CAFCASS has now designed the “Parenting Information Programme” which
Judges can order parents to attend (as happened to my client last week). The
press release for the programme is set out below. The objective of the course is
to get parent’s talking and keep disputes about children out of the courts.

READ PRESS RELEASE FROM Cafcass