How do you recognise a decent solicitor?

[Nodrama]

Hi everyone, I’m fighting the most awkward man in the world. I finally left him but need to sort out finances(detail removed by moderator) before the divorce. My problem is him not engaging and just generally controlling everything, still! I feel my solicitor isn’t on her game enough. Even though I chose her because she’s meant to be good in domestic abuse cases. I think it’s time I took advantage of the half hour free consultation with a new one. But how do know if they are up to it? Have my best interests at heart or are just rubbing their hands together? I’d welcome any advice x

[KIP.]

What do you mean that your solicitor isn’t on her game enough? It might be worth addressing specific problems that you see because they’re may be genuine legal reasons preventing her from doing certain things. When talking to new solicitors I’d be asking what experience or training they have with domestic abuser. Abusers are known to delay, deflect distract so I’d be asking for timelines each and every time a letter goes out. And asking how a new solicitor would handle this. I’d be emphasising that I do not want to waste money in useless correspondence and that if things cannot be sorted quickly then court may focus his mind.

[Nodrama]

Thanks for the feedback Kip. Its hard to explain without divulging certain information. I explained how he’d be from the start and she told me she’d dealt with people like him before. There’s been a few instances where I’ve had to be the one to back down to ensure things continue rather than start arguing about that particular thing so we can move forward if that makes sense. Thanks again Kip, that’s good advice for me to start with.

[N-Survivor]

I’m just starting on this journey and I did have to speak to a few solicitors first and waste money on consultations. I found it helped me looking at reviews online. Firms with 4.9 star ratings for example seem reputable to me. In the reviews people will mention specific solicitors and the type of case they dealt with. You get a sense of their speciality. I may ask for that specific person. I suppose it also depends on their work-load and how much time they can dedicate to your case in a given week.

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