Why is getting some legal advice during mediation, arbitration and court proceedings to reach a financial settlement or resolve the arrangements for your children helpful?
In arbitration or court proceedings, we can help you to prepare for those hearings, so your position is fully understood by the arbitrator or judge conducting the hearing. During these hearings, the solicitor for your former partner (or spouse) and/or the arbitrator or judge should be courteous, allow you some extra time so you can understand what it is you are required to do, and they should adapt their language so you can follow what is being said. Neither the solicitor for your former partner or spouse and/or the arbitrator or judge can give you legal advice about what is best for you or your child.
If your former partner or spouse is legally represented and you have not fully prepared for arbitration or court hearing, the arbitrator or judge is going to be more persuaded by the position put forward by your former partner or spouse provided, of course, the court has the authority in law to proceed in that way.
In a financial case, you may not know what factors the court can take into account to decide how much capital each of you should receive. At these hearings, you may not know all the alternative procedures and options that can be considered by the court. Before the hearing, we can advise you on how to make an application to appoint an expert who may support your case. Having legal representation from a barrister under the Direct Access scheme (see below) will help you to appeal a decision that may have been incorrectly reached by the judge.
There will be specific documents you are required to complete for the arbitration and court hearings.
For one reason or another, waiting to receive documents from your former partner or spouse or an expert can be delayed so it can all happen at very short notice. This can be very difficult to manage if you have other family commitments or are working full time. The more you are able to agree upon before those hearings then the more effective those hearings can become, so an arbitrator or judge can just focus upon the significant issues that need to be resolved in order to move your case forward.
There are times when it simply is not possible to agree much beforehand but, if you can demonstrate your willingness to do so, and you have put forward a reasonable position in contrast to your partner or spouse, you should be able to make a successful claim for your legal costs to cover the costs of any representation for that hearing.
When the Ministry of Justice last conducted its research of cases that settled at court hearings or had to be decided upon by the court at a final hearing, it showed the percentage of cases that settled with an agreed order was higher than those cases where one party had no legal representation at all. The percentage of cases that settled doubled when both parties had full legal representation. Being equipped and thus having the confidence to reach an agreement, even at court, helps to reduce the stress, expense and time of ongoing disputes.
What type of legal advice can you receive under a Limited Retainer to help you prepare for
- Mediation?
We can help you to present the information in an easily accessible paper or electronic format and to focus upon the issues to be resolved.
- Arbitration and court hearings?
There is a required standard format for presentation of these documents and irrespective of you representing yourself in these proceedings, the court (and possibly arbitrator too) will expect you to follow this format otherwise cost orders in favour of your partner or spouse could be made against you.
- Direct Access?
If you instruct a barrister to represent or advise you at an arbitration or court hearing under the “Direct Access Scheme” then we can help you prepare your documents to be used by them too. This will help to reduce a barrister’s fees and free up their time to concentrate on presenting your case to the court.
We can only assist and advise you upon completing the above tasks based upon the documents and information that is provided to us. Under a Limited Retainer we cannot advise you upon the overall success and strategy of your application, as we would be able to do if we represented you fully.
We cannot engage in correspondence with the court, your former partner or spouse (or their solicitor) or any other 3rd party connected with your matter. You are still responsible for and in control of how much correspondence is written, the negotiations that are undertaken, complying with the court directions and attending all meetings and court hearings. It is only when we act for you under full legal representation that we would do all of these tasks for you.
When should I consider getting some legal advice?
We can discuss whether your matter is suitable for a Limited Retainer agreement with us at any time throughout the process whilst you are in mediation, arbitration and court proceedings. We may not be able to advise you if there is insufficient time for us to complete the task but if we represent you, then we would manage the timings for the completion of the tasks for you. It is, therefore, important to involve us with plenty of time and to give us full information. Ideally, you should discuss this with us at the start of your matter before you decide which process you would like to use. Then we can help you budget for your legal support and to avoid any delays in the process to reach a conclusion.
Use the free and confidential link on our website www.helenpidgeonsolicitors.com to obtain more information about your situation or, contact us by telephone +44 (0) 203 585 2576 / +44 (0) 07833 228181 or email helen@helenpideonsolicitors.com for a free 15 minute initial discussion to see how we can help you. We offer initial fixed fee appointments during which we can give you legal advice about your options and possible outcomes. Helen Pidgeon Solicitors specialise in all aspects of family law and offer mediation and the collaborative practice.
References in this article to divorce proceedings also apply to the dissolution of a civil partnership save as otherwise stated.