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Subject: Divorced? Please Read ! (Local Firm v City Firm)
Posted By r_elise on 15-01-2010
Hi, I am conducting some research with regards to how people choose their law firm in a divorce. So to those people who have been through a divorce or are going through one, what motivated you to choose the firm you have/did and how have they handled your case? Please leave your comments whether good or bad.
If you had the choice between a local firm or a big city firm which one would you want to handle your divorce and why?
Is the recession making divorec harder? What are you experiencing in this climate, let me know.
I'd be very thankful if people could get back to me with their views and comments.
Rhoda
Please Note that your responses will be used as raw data evidence in a report.
Follow up comments
Added By why? on 15-01-2010
hi. i opted for a local firm simply because i have 3 young children and 2 at the time were not in school which meant i had to arrange child care for every appointment and so didnt want to be away any longer than i had to. also, although i drive, i am not confident in having to drive around unfamiliar cities such as london and would find that quite daunting and stressful in itself and of course the time involved in travelling was limitedas i had to take and pick up children from school.
i got mixed responses tothe type of solicitor to go for. some said they are all useless, just some charge more than others, some said you need a really red hot solicitor who cost the earth. my experience is that h is paying a lot for his solicitor and all they have done is antagonise situation as they appear to be allowing ex to be to write his own letter which are aggressive. my solicitor wont do this as its unprofessional and although i agree with her, there are times it fels like he is getting away with lies and thumping his chest like some gorilla.
my solicitor is qualified but not got the full years under her belt to call herself a fully fledged solicitor. she is a good person, a nice, friendly girl who seems to know her stuff but for me, she needs to be more leading. she doesn't explain things to me or point things out clearly although i am happy enoiugh with her as ex to be'ssolicitor doesn't seem to be worth his money.
my experience is that its cost us both an awful lot of money and we appear to be doing all the hard ground work ourselves which is made more difficult because ex and i dont communicate as relationships have been antagonised and become acrimonious. it would most certainly have saved us a whack of money had we been able to talk, which, had his solicitor 'refused' to send letters written by him might have been avoided.
Added By Teadrinker on 16-01-2010
I looked for a solicitor in my local area, partly for convenience of getting there and being able to deliver documents and letters to them by hand for security as I worried about the risk of important documents like my passport getting lost or stolen in the post or when travelling, and for ease of attending appointments. I had to go to a solicitor a bus ride away to find one who dealt with legal aid clients but then I found out I wasn't entitled to legal aid so I chose a solicitor walking distance from home, the one that was cheapest of the local solicitors.
The one I chose sounded nice on the phone when I rang to discuss charges and arrange an appointment. I wanted someone who would simply deal with it as an administrative matter and tell me anything I needed to know. I also felt it would be easier to deal with that way than to have someone who wanted to talk in detail about the moral rights and wrongs of who should get what and who was at fault as I might end up in tears and I didn't want to pay to sit and cry at a solicitor's!
He's done what I wanted except that he is painfully slow and has gradually got slower. Letters usually get a response after several reminders and I get the impression he's just trying to get a letter off his desk rather than properly dealing with it. It's over a year since I last heard from him and he's supposed to be getting the property transferred to my sole name. I've sent 3 reminders and had no reply and I realise now I should have gone to the office or phoned before now. I'm expecting the final bill to be around £500 which is fine but I'd definitely like him to have been faster. Most of my divorce occurred before the recession, but perhaps it's caused my solicitor to have more work and therefore be even slower with my case, who knows?
Added By skovby1 on 16-01-2010
We only used a solicitor to transfer the property into my name - process took a couple of months as I had to remortgage so any delay was caused by settling the original mortgage and start from fresh with the new lender.
Used a local conveyancing solicitor who also invited me to talk to a partner specialising in family law "to ensure I got everything I was entitled to", however ex-h and I chose to do the divorce and consent order ourselves as we agreed on the financial split.
Added By Jellylegs on 18-01-2010
My firm were brilliant - 100% efficient and completely ruthless. The first interview I had there was the most terrifying interview I've ever had in my life. I knew they were right for me as then-husband of 30 years, had begun lying and the local solicitor I'd seen sounded uncertain as to the complications brought about by disabled children, so I contacted a barrister-friend in London and asked for the best Family Lawyers in the region. It meant a long train journey to meet with them each time, but we made full use of phone, e-mail and fax, so trips to the city were rare.
They were fantastic - their bill massive, but without them I wouldn't be in the secure position I am now. (£500 is peanuts compared to what I spent!) I tried tirelessly throughout, on their advice, to persuade him to settle out of court, but he continued lying right up to a week before final hearing when he was forced to settle on my terms, or to bring gf to court to explain his generous funding of her new home...
It was vile, totally and absolutely horrible. I look back on it, now 4 years ago, as a time at which circumstances that were visited on me made me temporarily quite mad...I couldn't think rationally. It was my family and friends that restored my sanity and self respect and my solicitor enabled me to fund rebuilding my life.
Onwards and Upwards
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