Tanya’s ten top tips to help minimize your legal costs Top Tip 10/10 Choose well.

Your choice of solicitor is yours, and yours alone. Having a good rapport with them will

be important as time goes on and if you understand one another well, this will help with your costs.

This is especially the case when it comes to family law. Divorce, separation and children matters are incredibly personal and being able to discuss things openly with your solicitor will be crucial.

I once gave a client some advice on their matter generally, in an initial (‘no strings’) fixed fee appointment. They came back many months later, having instructed a different firm in the intervening period. Things had not gone well for them through that firm’s conduct of the case, and when they moved their instruction to myself, I ventured to ask what it was that meant they had not instructed me previously. They explained that they had not taken my advice initially and had felt too embarrassed about that. I have always remembered this because in our personal lives, it is often so difficult to do the right thing, especially all of the time. We all need a safe place where we can be honest about what has happened.

Your solicitor’s office may not seem like the most obvious place to pour your heart out, and generally it helps to have processed some of the emotions before you see your solicitor (see top tip 1). But being able to be truthful and to receive full advice as a result can save you so much in costs in the long run, as well as being, quite frankly, a complete relief.

Many clients come to see me in a state of anxiety and stress. Frequently they leave saying how much better they feel. This is only possible if they have found a solicitor with whom they can click, and be honest.

If you wish to speak with one of our specialist solicitors in confidence please contact us on tel 01622 23 88 54, or by email at info@snslaw.co.uk. If you wish to speak with Tanya or Richard, our family law solicitors based in Maidstone, you can call direct on 01622 23 88 54.

Watch this space next week for Top Tip Number Eleven – there will be two more over and above the Ten Top Tips, two for added value in 2020!