The traditional format
A bit of research tells us that there are presently 10,726 firms of solicitors in England and Wales. In the vast majority of cases, they will be occupying offices on the high street or city centre office blocks. With that comes the attendant expense of maintaining and operating those premises – and an ever-increasing expense at that. That expense is passed on to you, the client.
In this day and age, thanks to technology, we can do without a high street office. And because of that those unnecessary overheads can be eradicated and the savings can be passed on to you.
We are confident that you will be pleasantly surprised when you compare our charging rates with those elsewhere.
The officeless firm
We don’t expect you to choose us as your solicitors simply on price alone. We’d like to explain how as a consequence of ‘going officeless’ a lot of other advantages emerge – and we think that just means good news for our clients.
- As your solicitor we can devote more of our time to you. We can restrict the number of clients we have as we don’t need to “overload” – so typically the case in the traditional format. Therefore we commit to a 100 per cent same working day response; if we need to meet we will always be able to do so within 3 working days.
- We know from experience that busy working clients need flexibility. Sometimes it’s difficult to leave work between 9 and 5. We don’t work strict office hours; we can make arrangements to speak or meet at times to suit you
- If and when we need to meet we have plenty of options. But most importantly – what are you comfortable with? Your workplace? Costa? Your local hotel? We will make arrangements to suit you. You don’t need to come to us.
- If, however, you would prefer an office environment, we do have a “part-time” office that we use, if needed, on the Stratford Road near Solihull. We can arrange that for your convenience.
- And finally – we’ve all experienced those incredibly frustrating phone calls. If it’s not being passed from the receptionist to the secretary only to find out the person you want to speak to isn’t there, it’s wading through multiple layers of menus with pretty much the same frustrating result. Not so with us. You will have a direct landline and mobile number to use, the latter being straight to your solicitor.
- We come to you
- Cost-effective
- Not limited by office hours
- Direct phone line
- Same day response
- And finally, we always look for solutions. We do not seek unnecessary confrontation.
Our approach is set out in more detail here.
Paul Breen
Principal – De Lisle Family Law
Paul qualified as a solicitor in 1994, although law was not his first career. Having spent a little time in the accountancy profession, he then qualified as a teacher and spent twelve years teaching, variously, Economics, Politics and History in a Hertfordshire secondary school. This is a time he looks back on as an invaluable experience in equipping him with some of the skills necessary to be an effective family lawyer.
Whilst at the outset gaining experience in personal injury, licensing, and criminal law, he found a natural home in family law, in which he subsequently specialized, practicing in the Black Country and Warwickshire. He obtained accreditation as a member of the Law Society’s Family Panel.
With 23 years’ experience under his belt, Paul has got firm views on the subject. “Underfunding of the Family Courts together with the retraction of Legal Aid has caused, whether unwittingly or otherwise, a fundamental shift in client expectations. This is not such a bad thing. It has encouraged the client to seek alternative resolutions, and they have certainly got more than one eye on both time and the cost – and who blames them? They look to their solicitor to deliver effective solutions.”
Paul has a particular interest in non-court alternatives in family disputes. He feels it is far more attractive to invest time and effort into establishing agreement earlier rather than later and, as he says “avoiding court like the plague”. Stating the obvious, clients benefit both in time and expense. But he also points to other, and perhaps less immediately obvious, benefits. Time after time clients who have experienced a bitter court hearing speak of the long-term traumatic effect upon them.” So often a once loving couple leave court, one perceived as a “winner” and the other a ”loser”, and from that appalling position they have to rebuild their respective family lives in circumstances where in all probability they have friends, relatives, and social lives in common. And that’s before mentioning the children…”
Recently Paul has invested a lot of his time in three developing areas of family law. These are parenting plans, pre-marriage agreements (“pre-nups”) and the promotion of face-to-face dispute resolution. What they have in common is that they are all examples of a non-litigious approach to family law.
Paul is approachable and personable. He understands that this is in all probability a difficult and distressing time for you. He will be accessible directly at all times and he will focus on your particular situation and work hard to achieve the best possible outcome for you.
To contact Paul and Helen click here.
