Family life is everything to all of us and when a part of that breaks down, whether it be a marriage breakdown or separation from a partner or problems regarding arrangements for children; we are here to help.
We understand that making the initial contact with a law firm at what is already an emotional time can be a difficult decision to make. We want to ensure that from the very start, you feel well informed about the process and what steps we take to give you the best advice possible from the outset up to the conclusion of your matter.
Where are we?
Our Team is based throughout Sussex. We have offices in Eastbourne, Seaford, Brighton, Lewes, East Grinstead, Peacehaven, Storrington and Crawley.
Due to the Pandemic face to face appointments have been replaced with telephone or zoom appointments over the past 18 months. However, face-to-face appointments will be available, if preferred. Some people will prefer online meetings as it is often easier to fit around work or childcare and we are still very much open to facilitating meetings in this way.
How can you contact us?
Email - enquiries@mayowynnebaxter.co.uk
Webchat - Pop's up when you are on the website.
Telephone - 0800 84 94 101
All initial enquiries are passed to one of our family law paralegals who have an understanding of family law and who will be able to take the relevant details from you and arrange an appointment at a date and time to suit you.
Costs
One of the first questions new clients ask is how much the process will cost. We offer an initial fixed fee appointment at a fee of £250 plus VAT. The cost of the initial appointment will be confirmed to you by the paralegal when arranging the appointment with you. During the appointment the legal advisor will be able to provide you with a further estimate of costs based on the circumstances of your case. A guide to how much particular cases tend to cost from start to finish are published on our website.
The benefits of a Fixed Fee Appointment
Our fixed fee appointment is designed to give you a full overview in relation to all your options and ensure that you come away with the answers to any questions you may have about your particular circumstances. You will receive advice on where you stand legally to enable you to make an informed decision on how you wish to proceed. The appointment is likely to last 1 – 1.5 hours. We understand that after this appointment you may need time to go away and think about your options, or you may feel ready to instruct us so that we can help you resolve your matter.
We understand many people are reluctant to provide detailed information to a non-solicitor before their appointment, however, it often helps the solicitor to gain an understanding of each case and ensures more time is spent discussing the relevant issues and options during your meeting. We will also send you a pre-appointment questionnaire which you can choose to fill in if you want to provide some additional information.
Information we need from you:
To enable an appointment to take place our Paralegals require the following:
- Contact details of all parties
- Names
- Addresses
- Dates of birth of both parties
All information provided to us is completely confidential. We will need to do a conflict check to ensure there is no conflict, i.e. we have already spoken to your spouse/partner.
- Background Information
Our paralegals will ask you for some background information in relation to the advice sought. It is helpful to provide as much information as possible at this stage as the information provided will enable the advice you receive to be tailored to your specific needs.
- Setting up an appointment
The paralegals will arrange an appointment for you at a date and time to suit you. Appointments can take place over the telephone, via Zoom and if appropriate, face to face.
A confidential file will be opened for you and our Database Team will email you a welcome letter which sets out our terms and conditions together with our anti money laundering identification policy.
All clients are required to provide us with identification documents which must be dated within three months, together with confirmation of instruction before any appointment can take place. This will be emailed to you prior to your appointment.
Once a file is opened an email will be sent confirming the date and time of appointment together with details of how to make payment prior to the appointment.
If you have been recommended to one of our team, please let us know at the outset and every effort will be made to arrange an appointment with that specific legal advisor.
We do not underestimate how difficult making that initial contact with us is, whether it be in relation to seeking advice in relation to divorce, separation from a partner or difficulties in relation to arrangements for children following a breakdown in a relationship. All our paralegals have vast experience in identifying the issues you may have and will show empathy and understanding at the outset to ensure the process is as seamless as possible.
We want to ensure we look after all our potential clients as best we can and to ensure we are doing that; we commit ourselves to being ‘mystery shopped’. This provides us with the feedback we need to ensure we always offer a high level of service, whether an existing client or not.