Before you rush off to Court please take a minute to understand the options open to you.
Can I go to Court without a Solicitor?
Yes, you can deal with the Court papers and represent yourself in Court. But it will be a stressful and often bewildering experience and you might not end up with the result you expected. You might be left with the nagging feeling you could have done better if you’d had a little bit of help from a solicitor.
But I can’t afford a solicitor!
Employing a solicitor to do the whole thing is way out of reach of a lot of people’s pockets. So how can you get that vital little bit of help? I suggest you cherry pick the help you need and agree a price up front.
How can I cherry pick help from a solicitor?
Many offer pay as you go costs. This covers all aspects of family law including children cases. See my post Pay as you go costs
Decide what you would like a little bit of help with. For example:
- Will you win your case?
- How to show your case to its best advantage
- Assistance –
- filling in Court forms
- issuing your case
- Court procedure
- Court orders
Free initial advice from a solicitor
Initial advice from a solicitor is usually free. So chat to a couple, find the one you like, and agree a fee. They can give you a little bit of help. You will know they are at the end of the phone if you get really stuck.
What are the other options?
Are you eligible to Legal Aid? Or to help with Court fees.
If you simply want someone to sit with you in Court for moral support and to take notes, ask a friend or family member to be your McKenzie Friend.
Otherwise there are charities and organisations who offer help for free:
What is a McKenzie Friend?
This is someone who gives you a hand with your case, sits with you in Court, takes notes etc. A Professional McKenzie Friend will charge you.
What are the pros and cons of using a solicitor, a charity, a McKenzie Friend?
Solicitors have years of legal training (which they have to keep up to date). They are:
- knowledgeable and have daily, frontline experience in the law
- fully regulated and insured
- able to take steps in Court proceedings
- able to be your advocate in Court
- all too familiar with what you are going through because sadly they have seen it so many times before.
A charity or advice organisation?
They will help you as much as they legally can. They can give you moral support, take notes, coach you on what to say.
But unless they are qualified they cannot take steps for you in the proceedings or be your advocate in Court without the Court’s permission. And they may not want to get this involved. If they are not qualified they won’t necessarily have up to the minute knowledge of the law and how Court cases play out. They might not be insured in case they get it horribly wrong.
This goes for a non professional McKenzie friend, too, such as a friend or family member.
A professional McKenzie Friend?
As per charity and advice organisations above. Except they aren’t free. Some are insured and self regulated, but some are not.
What’s the answer?
You get what you pay for. If you are having a scrap with a debtor who owes you a couple of thousand, by all means do the whole case yourself.
But if your marriage or civil partnership has broken down and you can’t agree the arrangements for the children or the finances, please get a little bit of help from a solicitor. And the same goes for grandparents who are suffering the heartbreak of not being able to see their grandchildren.
If you can’t afford a solicitor to be your advocate in Court by all means ask a friend or family member to be your McKenzie Friend, or employ a professional McKenzie Friend. But please check them first. Are they part of a self regulated group? Are they insured? How experienced are they in the area of the law you are involved in?
And don’t forget about the voluntary and charitable organisations that can help you.
Can I go to Court without a Solicitor?
Yes, of course. But make sure you get a little bit of help from a solicitor.
Contact Joanne Houston on 01962 217640 for an initial free of charge consultation on your options, and an honest, straightforward answer to your question, Can I go to Court without a Solicitor? In this 20 minute session she will review your situation and how you can achieve your objectives.
JUST FAMILY LAW are specialist divorce and family law solicitors offering pay as you go costs. We offer collaborative law which provides solutions tailored to your family’s needs.
The topics covered in this blog post Can I go to Court without a Solicitor? are complex and are provided for general guidance only. Therefore if any of the circumstances mentioned in this blog have application to you, seek expert legal advice.
image New Age Children by Sarah Zeghraba on Wikimedia