What makes a top divorce lawyer?

Vardags Solicitors are a Top Divorce Lawyer based in Central London that specialise in complex and substantial cases

Lawyers who specialise in divorce require skills and knowledge that are not often associated with commercial lawyers. Whilst skills such as communication, working as a team or working to deadlines are needed by any legal specialist, a lawyer dealing with relationship dissolution needs more than these attributes to cope with the challenging situations that may arise.

Understanding the complexities of adult relationships is key. A top lawyer must be capable of dealing with clients undergoing such emotional upheaval with dignity and respect. This will include being capable of appreciating significant factors in the divorce outside monetary issues, namely children who would be adversely affected by a drawn out adversarial litigation.

A divorce lawyer must accept that there are two halves to any divorce proceedings, and the desires of each party will likely conflict. Compromise will be necessary and that needs to be communicated to the client, whose vulnerable position may cloud their view of the situation. Many clients will come seeking to withhold everything from their former partner, motivated by spite or fear of losing what their earnings. The client needs to be reassured that they will be protected, and with competent legal professionals, each party should be left content. Total reluctance to negotiate with the other party will only lead to negative effects to any children involved, who have been shown to suffer as a result of the uncertainty and upheaval involved in divorce proceedings.

Expert knowledge of Family Law is an obvious requirement. The lawyer needs to be able to advise their clients about the existence of the “clean break” principle, the precedents set by cases such as White v White and other relevant case law, s.25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, and other legal principles which would affect the clients position in the event that the issue should come before a judge. Even before this, the top divorce lawyer will need to be able to convey the availability of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation or collaborative law, especially with the weight given to the ADR process by the government, the courts and organisations such as Resolution. Aside from being the cheaper option, ADR is often considered the more holistic method of dealing with a divorce, with financial, housing and custody issues being looked at as one complete issue.

It is important that the client has faith in their lawyer to do the best they can, to protect their interests and to provide the best legal advice. To ensure this the lawyer must show a determined and professional demeanour throughout the process.

The main issue to be dealt with by a lawyer dealing with divorce is turning a sensitive situation into something that the client is happy with and as a result the client will be able to move forward and build a better future. If a lawyer can do this, then they would be considered a top divorce lawyer.