Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors are now also Family Law Solicitors in Torquay
The last 18 months has been an exceptional period for Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors.
In this period, we have:
Whilst less visible, we have made changes to our website and to our procedures so that we have improved out transparency about legal pricing/charges and our systems to provide and outstanding service to our clients.
As part of these changes we have incorporated innovative technology into our website to assist new clients to better engage with us and to improve what we are able to provide at initial meeting. We have also introduced a pay as you go and wider fixed fee service.
The final step in this period of growth is the opening of our Torquay Family Law Office on the 03 June 2019.
Our Torquay Family Law Office is conveniently located in Lymington Road, at the Torquay Business Centre.
We selected this as a location because it is easily accessible from all parts of Torquay. Torquay Business Centre is a relatively short distance from Torquay County Court. It is also reasonably convenient for Torbay Council social services meetings at Union House.
We also have the benefit of being able to offer free parking (subject to availability and normally pre-booking) and good disabled access.
Our Torquay solicitors team will be led by Nicole Phare.
Nicole qualified as a specialist family law solicitor in 2005 and specialises in both children law and divorce.
Nicole enjoyed a long career in family law before qualifying as a solicitor and most of her career has been spent working for different practices in Torbay
Nicole will be supported in building our Torquay family law solicitors office by our director Ian Walker and highly experienced solicitors David Howell-Richardson and Sandy Powell.
Both Ian and Sandy have had careers which have included working for South Devon/Torquay practices and between us, we have assisted many Torbay families over the years.
We are conscious that over the years the number of solicitors firms who undertake complex children work in Torquay has significantly reduced.
Before we opened our Torquay solicitors office there were only two firms of solicitors with offices in Torquay which included members of the Law Society Children Panel and which still offer a legally aided service.
By opening an office in Torquay we have taken this number up to 3.
From our Torquay family law solicitors office we will be assisting clients both with children law and divorce.
We are a team of specialist divorce lawyers in Torquay. We will be offering a divorce service from our Torquay family law office.
At Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors we are committed members of the family law solicitors organisation Resolution. Ian Walker is now in his third (three year) term as the elected chair of the Devon region of resolution. Ian is also a member of Resolution’s national Dispute Resolution Committee which promotes innovation and best practice in resolving family Law and divorce cases out of court. He has previously served as both a member of the Law Society Family Law Committee and as a trustee of the Family Mediators Association. One of Ian’s achievements was the introduction of collaborative family law in Devon.
We are committed to assisting our divorce clients to resolve their cases in a principled and fair way which focuses on achieving good outcomes but ensures that the needs of the couple’s children are not lost in (often unnecessary) adult disputes.
If you believe we can assist – please do get in touch.
In six and half years we have grown from nothing to being a leading family law solicitors practice and mediation service in the south-west.
We have achieved our growth through the innovative use of technology. Are use of technology is both client facing and also within the platform through which we work. We make good use of cloud technology. We use other innovative software and we subscribe to the best available family law practice support service.
We now have SRA authorised offices in Honiton, Exeter, Torquay and Weston-super-Mare as well as consulting rooms we access in Yeovil and Bridgwater.
Our team consists of both employed solicitors and fee share consultant’s.
Whilst on the one hand we intend to consolidate the advances we have made over the last 18 months, on the other hand, we are always open to new opportunities.
We are therefore ever open to hear from outstanding family lawyers who might be based in Devon and Somerset slightly further afield who are interested in joining an innovative, collegiate, noncorporate but highly professional and expert team. Our team has grown around its people and being open to new opportunities and if you share our vision and would like to join our journey then we would like to hear from you. (Equity opportunities are available). Join our Family Law Solicitors in Torquay.
Collaborative family law is a fantastic but underused family dispute resolution process.
With mediation, couples are assisted to reach solutions through confidential negotiation assisted by the neutral mediator.
With the normal model of mediation, each of the couple will seek their own independent legal advice between meetings. The neutral mediator cannot give advice – but can give information in a neutral way.
One of the problems with mediation is that couples in mediation may decline to take legal advice or they may not ask the right questions of their solicitor, or they may not fully hear the advice that is given. This can mean that in some mediations, one or both of the parties will struggle to say yes or even maybe to what might otherwise be reasonable proposals.
Feedback from mediation information and assessment meetings and mediation is occasionally that one party declined to enter mediation, struggled with the mediation process because they felt under supported, or were concerned that the other party would be too overbearing for mediation to be able to work.
If mediation is not suitable, or is not quite the right process, then there are alternatives.
This is where collaborative law fits in. With collaborative family law, both of the couple commits to finding negotiated solution, whilst also avoiding court proceedings. Like mediation the negotiations are confidential. The collaborative law contract, which is called the participation agreement, includes a commitment from both of the couple not to go to court. It is agreed that if the collaborative law process breaks down that the couple will each need to instruct different solicitors. This is a further incentive to settle.
The key to collaborative family law is that there is no neutral mediator (although in some circumstances a mediator could be drafted in, if negotiations got particularly complicated). Instead the couple are reach represented/advised/assisted by their own solicitors. The mediation works through a series of 4 way meetings. The solicitors will work together in a collaborative way.
Advice will be shared and by collaborative working complex issues can be unravelled as a practical and fair solution is worked out. The couple are reach better supported and each will be better able to say yes to a reasonable agreement when the time is right. The solicitors working with their clients are better able to keep the process moving along than with mediation. Letter writing is avoided.
When appropriate other professionals can be brought in to the collaborative law process, such as financial advisers or family consultants (who can assist with coaching around children issues). Key to the success of collaborative law is that each of the clients have a good relationship and trust in their solicitors and then that there is a good working relationship and trust between both solicitors. To qualify as a collaborative family lawyer specific training is required and this needs to be backed up by regular meetings with other collaborative lawyers and ongoing training.
The alternative to mediation and collaborative law is either negotiation through solicitors letters or roundtable meetings which do not have the protection of the collaborative law agreement or a court process. These negotiations will often be more tetchy and divisive (even if that is not intended). Collaborative family law offers a way to achieving a better divorce/separation/negotiation in the way that mediation also does.
You don’t build and sustain good working relationships with other collaborative family law solicitors without meeting and talking.
This year Devon Resolution organised a Collaborative Law Training Day for Devon Collaborative Family Lawyers with the leading collaborative law trainers in the UK – namely Helen Garlic and Suzy Power. (Incidentally, Helen had been one of the helpers on the mediation training that Ian Walker undertook with the renowned Henry Brown and Felicity White, back in 1996). Suzy was one of the trainers when Ian arranged with Resolution the foundation collaborative law training which brought collaborative law to Devon in 2005.
It was good to catch up with Helen and Suzy and also with other collaborative law solicitor colleagues from around Devon. You can never have too much skills training.
By us meeting and training together and building and maintaining good relationships, we can as a group assist our clients better.
Collaborative Family Law is a good option. Give us a call to find out more.
Leading Exeter Family Law Solicitor and Exeter Divorce Lawyer David Howell-Richardson joins Ian Walker Family Law And Mediation Solicitors – adding to one of the most experienced teams of family Law solicitors and divorce lawyers in Devon and Somerset
David Howell-Richardson has spent many years assisting clients in Exeter and throughout Devon to achieve good outcomes for their divorce and child related problems.
David Howell Richardson qualified as a solicitor in 1978 and as Head of Family Law and partner at Stones Solicitors, Exeter and then Trowers and Hamlins Solicitors, David will have assisted thousands of clients in Exeter and Devon with his child focused but tenacious approach. David has spent many years as a member of the Law Society Children Panel and on the Law Society Family Mediation Panel.
David Howell-Richardson is well known and well liked in the Exeter and Devon family law community. He is an active member of Resolution, which is leading force in the development of good practice for family solicitors and divorce lawyers. David’s reputation and experience assists him in achieving good outcomes for his clients.
Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors was founded by leading Devon and Somerset family law solicitor and divorce lawyer Ian Walker in 2013. Ian Walker is the long-standing chair of the Devon region of Resolution and is a former member of the Law Society Family Law Committee and a former trustee of the Family Mediators Association.
It is the mission statement of Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors to set standards of excellence in the practice of family Law and mediation. Also, to assist clients to find the best solutions for their family law issues in a way that is child focused, cost effective and as un-traumatic as possible.
An example of the progressive approach of Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors is that the practice has always published its charging rates on their website http://ian-walker-family-law.local/payments-2/these charges are consciously lower than comparable city centre practices. However, if clients are concerned for some reason that the law firms in Exeter charging rates are not high enough, there is an ongoing offer in the firm’s fair charging policy http://ian-walker-family-law.local/payments-2/fair-charging-policy/ to price match a more expensive charging rate and donate the difference to a children’s charity.
Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors has quickly developed one of the most experienced teams of family Law solicitors and divorce lawyers in Devon and Somerset. In addition to Ian Walker and David-Howell Richardson, two of our other family Law solicitors and divorce lawyers have been partners and head of family law and divorce at their previous Devon practices, namely; Kim Stradling (Everys Solicitors) and Sandy Powell (Dunn and Baker Solicitors).
There are currently 7 specialist family Law solicitors and divorce lawyers in the team at Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors, but there are already plans in place which should see this rise to 9 specialist family Law solicitors and divorce lawyers by early 2019. This will make the team one of the largest specialist teams of family Law solicitors and divorce lawyers in Devon and Somerset, assisting clients from its offices and consulting rooms in Exeter, Taunton, Honiton and Yeovil.
The practice has a well-regarded website http://ian-walker-family-law.local/ which includes lots of useful information about family law, child law, divorce, family mediation and family law arbitration. The website includes pages with helpful advice to assist clients to choose their best divorce lawyer http://ian-walker-family-law.local/divorce/best-divorce-lawyer/ and about what to do if social services have concerns about parenting http://ian-walker-family-law.local/what-to-do-if-social-services-have-concerns-about-your-parenting/
David says:
I am delighted to be a member of the family law solicitor and divorce lawyer team at Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors. I have known Ian Walker, Kim Stradling and Sandy Powell for many years and they together with their team are excellent family Law solicitors and divorce lawyers. The philosophy behind the firm is about combining best practice, the good use of technology and reasonable charging. I am very pleased to be part of the team and to continue to assist families in Exeter and Devon.
Ian Walker says:
David Howell-Richardson has fitted easily into our team. We are building a leading family law practice to serve clients throughout Devon and Somerset from our offices and consulting rooms in Exeter, Taunton, Honiton and Yeovil. 2018 has been a year of excellent results and of growth for the practice and I am looking forward to further growth in 2019.
We are a little over midway through the year and are feeling very inundated with good quality work.
This means we are at a stage where we could really benefit from adding to our legal team.
We have a versatile team led by Ian Walker (Chair Devon Resolution). Kim Stradling, Sandy Powell and David Howell-Richardson have been partners and heads of family law at previous practices. We have built a strong team of experienced practitioners.
Our main base is in Honiton in the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty but we also have offices in Exeter, Taunton and Yeovil.
We are particularly looking for someone to help us grow our Exeter office (within the Senate, Southernhay Gardens)
We have an experienced and respected team. We have grown through recommendation and good business planning.
We enjoy the work we do. It is important to us that we do our work in the right way; also, that we all get on with each other and that we are a genuine team. No office politics please. We have a commitment to Legal Aid and fair charging.
We will be pleased to hear from candidates with all levels of experience. What is important is that they either are already or want to become an outstanding family lawyer who wants be part of our growth.
(more…)
We have just published the flyer for the annual Devon Resolution Family Law Conference, which is organised by Devon Resolution, of which I am the longstanding Chair.
I have reproduced the flyer below. Family Law professionals who are not from Devon are also welcome to attend. We hold the conference on a Friday so that non-local delegates and speakers have the chance to spend a weekend in lovely Devon if they wish.
There is something for everyone and it promises to be the best yet (and much better than the thing going on in Bristol on dates I have forgotten organised by nation resolution).
See you there…
2017 was a really good year for Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors, but 2018 promises to be even better. Below is what I can tell you about our plans for 2018, but first, the highlights of 2017 (in no particular order):
Thanks to all who have helped us get this far. I am looking forward to 2018
In 2017 the family Family Solicitors organisation, Resolution published a briefing paper on the future of family law called : Law and Justice briefing ; The current landscape and direction of travel
Here is a link to the paper: http://www.resolution.org.uk/editorial.asp?page_id=1292 but it is in the members only section.
For those who don’t know, I have been a member of Resolution for over 20 years and I am the longstanding Chair of the Devon Region. I am also a member of the national Dispute Resolution Committee.
The paper was written by my old friend Angela Lake-Carroll who I first met nearly 20 years ago when I was one of a handful of solicitors invited by the Legal Aid Agency to participate in their FAINS: Family Advice and Information Networks project. Angela is well respected in the family law community and also a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee.
In summary, the paper analyses the market for the demand for and the delivery of family law (and mediation) services and discusses threats and opportunities.
Threats will include:
We know that Christmas is not a happy time that everyone. Indeed it can be very lonely and depressing. Some parents are for various reasons unable to spend time with their children on the main days of the Christmas holiday or even at all.
In the run-up to Christmas we deal with a surge in cases where separated parents are in dispute over the arrangements through which children will spend time with each parent over the Christmas holiday. Here are some hopefully helpful thoughts.
Children don’t want to see the adults around them arguing. Children want to enjoy everything that is going on. They will quite naturally want to see all of the important adults in their lives if possible. If they are taking part in a school play or similar performance children will normally want this to be watched by their important family members. Most importantly of all (again) children do not want to witness arguments; children wants to have fun and be happy.
If it has not been possible to agree arrangements for children to spend time with the adults who they do not live with during the year, then it is unlikely that there are going to be any significant changes agreed for the Christmas period. Equally, if the amount of time that the non-resident parent spends with their child is quite limited, then it is unlikely that it is going to be agreed that they can have loads ofadditional time over the Christmas holiday. Anyadditional time that can be agreed is likely to be along the lines of what is already taking place. Asking for more than is realistic will probably be counter-productive and will only lead to arguments.
If separated parents cannot get on with each other normally, then it is unrealistic to expect significant change over Christmas. Moving between one parent and another can be very stressful for children as well as for their parents. Sometimes the situation can be improved if a family member or friend can on a regular or even specific occasionassist with the move between one parent and the other.
The best time to discuss the arrangements for Christmas is in the spring of the year before. This allows ample time to undertake mediation. If agreements cannot be reached then an application would need to be made to the Court. Securing court time is not always easy and if there is a dispute over the Christmas arrangements, if an application is made to the court in the middle of December it is unlikely that the case will be able to get before a Judge in such a way that decisions can properly be made. The later a court application is left before Christmas, the less likely it is that a satisfactory outcome will be achieved
Courts make decisions based upon evidence. If an agreement has been reached between parents and it can be proven that an agreement existed then the starting point of the Court is likely to be based upon making the parents keep to their agreements (unless there is a good reason for change)rather than starting completely from scratch
Some parents sadly do not see their children or have their time with their children restricted because there are issues about safety. Examples of this can be where there has been domestic abuse or even abusive or unsafe behaviour involving the children. Sometimes the parent with whom the child lives places the question of safety to one side in order to try to be nice to the other for Christmas or because they want to give their children what they think their children want. Risks are unlikely to diminish simply because it is Christmas and if a parent places themselves or their children in an unsafe situation then they could be unfortunate consequences both with some problem arising and also with the possibility that social services could become involved with the family because of concerns over a parents failure to protect.
The best arrangements for children are ones where their parents are able to communicate well with each other and where both parents have confidence that the other will deliver their side of the agreement. The best arrangements are where parents are able to trust each other. Unless there is a significant safety issue the best way to achieve the best arrangements is through the parents talking to each other and finding a way to put past difficulties behind them. Mediation can be an excellent forum for achieving this. The starting point to a successful mediation is both parents accepting that there is a problem that needs to be resolved and both wishing to do something to resolve the problem.
Where advice is required it is always a good idea to do this as soon as it becomes clear that the problem will not easily be solved. In our experience problems do not easily go away if nothing is done to try and solve them. Reasonable arrangements for children over the Christmas period often include Christmas Day being shared or children spending Christmas with one family one year and with another the next. However, all situations are different. Getting specific legal advice is usually a good idea.
We are a Firm of Solicitors specialising in family law and a mediation service that is based in Honiton in East Devon. We also have branch offices in Taunton. Our mediation service is contracted with the legal aid agency to offer legally aided mediation in Honiton Exeter and Taunton. If you qualify for legal aid for mediation then the mediation will be free of charge.We are members of the family solicitors organisation Resolution. Ian Walker is currently the elected chair of the Devon region Of Resolution
In the next couple of weeks the Legal Aid Agency will finally be launching the tender process for new Legal Aid contracts to run from 2018. Those providers wishing to offer/ continue to offer a legally aided service for both family law and for family mediation from May 2018 will need to tender for new contracts.
This tender process has been much delayed and we are pleased that it will finally be happening.
From what we understand, we should meet the expected criteria for family law and family mediation:
This is the third tender process and the previous one was the trigger for the foundation of Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors.
That there is a broad and accessible supplier base is important to allow clients to access justice.
Together with the Committee of Devon Resolution (of which I am Chair), we have organised some training to assist members of Devon Resolution to get their tenders right.
We are fortunate to have arranged the training with Matt Howgate who is a Legal Aid expert and is the main trainer for the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG).
The training will be on 13 October in Exeter. Devon Resolution members should already have received notice. If you are a Devon Resolution member and didn’t get my email about the training, please let me know asap.
The training is particularly aimed at those and their deputies who will be responsible for preparing, checking and submitting their firms tenders
The Family Mediation Council (FMC ) is now the governing body for mediation. It is made up of 6 member organizations.
I received an email news update at end of March 2017
The FMC report that there are 982 mediators registered with FMC of whom only 687 who are accredited.
Last year I reported that they estimated that this number was around 800 accredited family mediators – so this means that there has been a reduction.
This means that there are only 687 mediators who are able to sign off Family Court Application Forms after a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting.
To put that in context; Resolution has some 6000 members – some 160 odd are based in Devon, but there are many more solicitors and ,legal executives and paralegals working in the world of family law who are not resolution members.
The number of accredited mediators is small and pitifully small in comparison to the numbers of lawyers and non-lawyers who have completed mediation training courses over the last 20 years. I would estimate that 000’s have trained as mediators, but have never found enough work to gain accreditation, let alone be able to make a living.
