Each of these will usually agree a fixed fee in advance for a defined task: a one-hour consultation, a review of a document you have built here, a certificate of independent legal advice for an agreement, or finalising a consent order. Ask for the fee before you instruct and say that your papers are already prepared; it shortens the job.
Barristers you can instruct directly
Members of the public can instruct a barrister directly without a solicitor, with fixed fees agreed in advance. The family finance team, headed by Edward Boydell KC, has more than forty barristers across every level of case, many of them mediators and arbitrators; its clerks will match the case to a suitable barrister. Well suited to advice on a document, a certificate of independent legal advice, or representation at a single hearing. The founder practises from these chambers and will not accept any instructions that come through this website, because of the conflict of interest; ask the clerks for another member of the team.
A long-established set with offices in Manchester and Preston whose family team accepts direct access instructions. Ask for Matthew Gibbons, Senior Clerk to Chambers since 2002, who will match your case to a suitable family barrister and agree the fee in advance.
Collaborative lawyers and experts
A group of collaborative family lawyers and other professionals in the City of London who help separating couples reach their own agreement constructively, keeping the family's wellbeing in view. An alternative to court for couples who want to settle but need help getting there.
Solicitors
The Family Law Company. Joint managing director; solicitor, family mediator, collaborative lawyer and arbitrator, with experience of complex divorce and financial cases and of disputes about children.
Downs Solicitors. Partner in the family team, dealing with divorce, financial settlements, children and nuptial agreements.
Sonia is a family law specialist solicitor and an accredited family mediator. She advises on the finances of separation and divorce, child arrangements, domestic abuse, surrogacy and pre- and post-nuptial agreements. She offers financial, children, hybrid and child-inclusive mediation and MIAMs. She practises as a senior consultant solicitor with Southgate Solicitors and is the founder of 2getherwise, an independent family law and mediation consultancy.
Clarkson Wright & Jakes is a well-known family law practice in Kent handling post-separation issues, including child arrangements and financial remedy matters. It is experienced in handling cases involving inherited wealth, businesses, pensions and property.
Gardner Leader LLP. Stephanie is a senior family law expert with decades of experience, advising on divorce and separation, financial remedies, arrangements for children and pre- and post-nuptial agreements. She has particular experience of complex financial matters involving property, pensions, businesses and other assets. Stephanie's approach is practical, empathetic and focused on achieving constructive solutions. A member of Resolution, she encourages sensible discussion, negotiation and non-court dispute resolution wherever appropriate, while also guiding clients through court proceedings when necessary.
Keystone Law. Partner and family solicitor with over 15 years' experience of divorce finances, children disputes, pre- and post-nuptial agreements and cohabitation disputes.
Also useful
Get Legally Speaking. Hatti's plain-English divorce series, 30 short lessons on divorce and separation, alongside her podcasts with family lawyers on what to expect at each stage.
Free help
Before paying anyone, see what is free. These services are independent of RemedyReady; eligibility and waiting times vary, so apply early.
The Bar's pro bono charity (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit). Barristers give free advice or representation, including at financial remedy hearings, to people who cannot afford to pay and cannot get legal aid. Apply online with details of your case; allow several weeks and apply as soon as you have a hearing date.
Free, confidential advice on divorce and money, benefits, debt and housing, online, by phone or at a local office. Adviceline 0800 144 8848 (England) or 0800 702 2020 (Wales).
Trained volunteers in many family courts who help people representing themselves prepare for and get through a hearing: explaining the process, helping to organise papers and sitting with you in court. Not legal advice, but a steadying presence on the day.
Independent, free guides for people without a lawyer, including a survival guide to sorting out your finances on divorce and guides to going to court, written by lawyers and tested with the public.
LawWorks lists free legal advice clinics run by volunteer solicitors across England and Wales; the Law Centres Network lists not-for-profit law centres. Many offer a free first appointment on family matters.
A free, confidential family law advice line for women in England and Wales, staffed by women lawyers, covering divorce, finances, children and domestic abuse. Telephone 020 7251 6577 at the published times.
Legal aid for financial remedy cases is now mostly limited to people with evidence of domestic abuse: check on GOV.UK. Help with Fees can reduce or remove the court fee if you are on a low income. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme contributes up to £500 towards mediation where children are involved.
What to ask for
- Before signing a separation agreement: an hour's independent advice for each of you from different lawyers and the certificate pages at the end of the agreement completed. This is the single thing that most strengthens an agreement if it is ever tested.
- Before a consent order is lodged: a review of the order and the Form D81 for anything a judge might query.
- Before a first appointment or FDR: a review of your position statement and questionnaire and advice on what to accept.
- Before a final hearing: advice on the likely range of outcomes, or representation at the hearing itself.