Divorce

Sensible, pragmatic advice and representation at fixed prices from the country’s top divorce barristers

By removing the uncertainty of your legal costs and providing access to some of the most respected divorce barristers in the country we aim to soften the burden of divorce proceedings.

We also offer pre-emptive advice, namely:

• pre-nuptial agreements i.e. agreements to resolve financial claims prior to the marriage; and
• post-nuptial agreements i.e. agreements to resolve financial claims after the marriage has taken place.

As a client you are able to deal direct with your Barrister who will represent you from the beginning of the dispute to settlement and/or the Court trial.

Our Expertise:

Our divorce and family team offers advice and representation in the following main areas of law:

• Divorce
• All aspects of financial claims arising out of the divorce/marital breakdown(including foreign divorces)
• Jurisdictional conflicts relevant to the divorce proceedings
• Pre-nuptial agreements
• Post-nuptial agreements
• Commercial advice in relation to the financial structures, including onshore and offshore company structures and asset reorganisation, of the divorcing parties
• Tax advice in relation to the financial structures of the divorcing parties

Our unique model

We have designed a transparent structure of fixed pricing based upon the four main stages of divorce proceedings. You pay only for the best advice and not for unnecessary overlay and correspondence. Our model is designed for situations involving assets in excess of £500,000.

Our teams are led by divorce QC’s, top rated by Chambers & Partners and other legal directories, with a wealth of experience in advising on complex matrimonial issues. They are supported, as appropriate, by Junior Barristers, Solicitors and other experts e.g. tax specialists and accountants.

The four stages

Initial Conference

The first stage is the initial conference which is an opportunity to look at the merits of your case and decide upon the legal and commercial strategy.

Fixed, all inclusive pricing for the initial conference, including assessing and preparing the case and instructing Counsel, including a conference with Counsel. Fees start at £1,000 + VAT for a Junior Barrister led team and £2,000 + VAT for a QC led team.

The First Appointment

The next stage, the Case Management Discussion, is to issue proceedings (or defend them) and prepare the relevant Court forms and documentation for a first appointment before a Judge who will set down a number of orders and directions as to how the case should progress. This involves:

• completing a schedule of assets and filing all relevant court papers i.e. a Form A notice and Form E;
• liaising with the Court and the other side;
• dealing with all correspondence and advising generally on the strategy and legal issues; and
• preparing the case for the first case management hearing (the first appointment) which deals with the directions from the Court in order to progress the case further.

Fixed, all inclusive pricing, including preparation, care and conduct and representation, for the case management discussion, starts at £5,000 + VAT for a Junior Barrister led team and £7,500 + VAT for a QC led team.

Financial Dispute Resolution

The third stage is a mandatory obligation for both parties to proceed to a Financial Dispute Resolution hearing (FDR). This is a without prejudice hearing where the case is prepared for trial to be heard by a Judge. The Judge will provide his opinion on the case and inform the parties about what he would award if the matter was heard by him at the final trial. The parties can either accept the Judge’s indication or reject it. If they accept it then the case can be settled and a consent order drafted by the parties. Indeed, the whole philosophy behind this hearing is that it is designed to persuade parties to settle the case rather than go to a full blown trial.

We will prepare for the case for the FDR hearing and advise you on all aspects of the case including:

• strategy and the legal issues;
• liaison with the Court and the other side including all necessary correspondence;
• preparation of all the trial bundles and witness statements as well as the legal arguments in preparation for the hearing itself; and
• In cases where the FDR leads to settlement, providing the draft the settlement order.

Fixed, all inclusive pricing, including preparation, care and conduct and representation, for the Financial Dispute Resolution hearing, starts at £17,500 + VAT for a Junior Barrister led team and £25,000 + VAT for a QC led team.

Trial

The fourth stage, assuming the FDR has not led to settlement, is a full blown trial of the case. We will provide Care and Conduct from the FDR to the trial itself (assuming the FDR has not led to settlement) and representation at the trial.

We will agree a fixed fee, all inclusive price, including preparation, care and conduct and representation at the trial, on a bespoke basis.

Pre-divorce advice

As an alternative to the above it is now possible, due to recent developments in the law, to avoid the uncertainty, stress and expense of the entire divorce process by entering into a contractual arrangement with your partner before things start to go wrong. With this in mind we have designed pre-divorce solutions.

Fixed, all inclusive pricing for pre-divorce advice, starts at £2,500 + VAT for a Junior Barrister led team and £5,000 + VAT for a QC led team.

Any necessary disbursements (e.g. valuation costs, experts’ reports) will be quoted separately.

If you wish to discuss our divorce package or your requirements please contact Chris Baylis on 0207 489 2010 or email [email protected]