[Solved] Results are in !

so in a nutshell, go it alone and save yourself ££££££££££ 🙂

LnH would need more participants to actually confirm this, but when we spoke about it a while ago,
I said to him that I had a vague idea that you may have just as good an outcome by doing it yourself
as if you are represented.
The more people take they quicker we can see the results 🙂 🙂 🙂

Tc
Kirsten

I don't regret going it alone I don't think I could of handled going through a solicitor and having that extra worry of financing the court case and I'm sure it would of took twice as long just to get to the stage I am at, judging by other peoples accounts who have a Solicitor they seem to be getting nowhere quickly.

In a strange way I have enjoyed representing myself I think I'm a better person for it, even though it's been the most stressful worrying time of my life I've loved standing up there on my own fighting for my Girls I have had no support at all from family or friends in person and I've not wanted a MF or Solicitor with me at each hearing I feel like I've gained so much confidence everything else in life seems easy in comparison.

I would of been screw balled if it wasn't for this site mind and I really like helping other people out on here it seems like my 3rd job hahaha!

I'm not surprised by the results to be honest. Of course it's a small sample size that took part so not totally reflective of the real situation but I'd say it's fairly indicative of real life outcomes.

There's no real way thought to tell for example if the outcome of a self repped hearing would have been better had a barrister being used, as of course you can't re-run that hearing. Once it's done it's done.

In terms of money it's interesting to wonder about if the solicitor could get a better result at a hearing than a self repper, would it be worth the massive financial investment??

I personally self repped my first hearing and got a good outcome from that. The second hearing I took a mckenzie friend and got an increase in contact, but left the hearing feeling I hadn't got much of an improvement. The third hearing I took barrister, and got unsupervised contact, which of course is a fantastic result. But I think that result occurred because of the fear factor that the barrister represented to my ex - she just could not handle the fear of being cross examined. If I had self repped, I doubt she would have succumbed to her fears, as she would have had a barrister and I wouldn't. So each hearing is unique I think.

For my review hearing at the end of october, I will be going totally alone. No Barrister. No Mckenzie friend. Main reasoning being, I don't think it's worth the financial investment since its a short hearing and probably not much will happen. Secondly I feel now that both these type of people are solely in it for the money, and I don't like that one bit.

My Barrister refused to contact me back when I contacted her about the issue with my ex threatening me with the police and not complying with the court order. If they can't be bothered to give a little advice in between hearings, then don't expect me to pay big money for the actual hearing.

As for the mckenzie friends, I got a couple of recommendations from posters on here, but the people recommended to me did not respond to my emails asking for their assistance, so I assume they are not interested in helping me. So much for wanting to help fathers huh??

Which all in all means that I am going it alone for the hearing. But I'm cool with that. I have three hearings under my belt. I have intimate knowledge of my case. I know what I want to say and need to say in court. What can wrong?! lol. Of course I will report back on how it pans out and you can add it to your chart!

Simon.

I don't think it makes much difference if you are represented, go it alone or have an MF as the Courts is just a system and at each stage the courts dictate what happens same goes for Caftwats, It seems like its all a set procedure and you will get contact sooner or later as they all stick to the law.

I don't believe in MF's as they are completely unregulated and hardly any have qualifications most of them start doing it as they have or have someone close to them who have been through the system so they learn how it works which we end up doing anyway plus they're [censored] expensive, I think most of them prey on dads who don't know where to turn thank god I found this site 🙂

Some other dad sites get my goat as they actively tout for work on them and they scare you into getting a MF which then they will offer you there services and if you refuse they don't even offer you advice just like [censored] Solicitors.

I'm really looking forward to the next court hearing and then the final hearing and I'm really looking forward to sharing my experiences and helping other Dads out on this site I so wish I had met someone like me when all this started to but my mind at rest lol Saying that peeps on this site have been brilliant and even though I don't really like "the other" dad site they have offered snippets of really advice but I like dad info as it's a tad more compassionate 🙂

I'm not surprised at the results, and it backs up what we tell dads all the time here.

I used to have a customer that ran a family law firm, while I was talking to him we started talking about my own case, he asked who was representing me and I said I was, he looked relived and said that is always the best way unless there are circumstances that need a legal mind to deal with as there is no need of the expence when you can do everything yourself.

He went on to talk about other firms he knew and disliked due to stringing families along and taking too much time to get anything done so they could increase what they earnt.

I would always say go it alone or if you really can't face that then find a really good MF to help.

GTTS

Hi GTTS,

You are absolutely right with what you are saying.
LnH and I have been discussing this many times and whilst in the beginning he engaged a solicitor
the cost were astronomical and he had been no further forward than he was before he had the solicitor.
But I also believe that by self representing the court sees a devoted parent who is willing to undertake one
of the most difficult tasks.....going to court and fighting for your child without professional aid or legal experience.

Not forgetting that by doing it yourself, you eliminate this endless ( it was in LnH 's case) letter writing,
deadline setting and such like....only to find you haven't really moved forward.

Saying this though, I have no problem with someone being represented, it boils down to choice.

MF's are to be regulated at some point in the future, there are some really good MF's about and I would
most certainly use one if I needed to, again, this is a choice thing.

Tc
Kirsten

[quote="Kirsten" post=54036

Saying this though, I have no problem with someone being represented, it boils down to choice.

Tc
Kirsten

I completely agree with this, my wife took a solicitor to court with her (our cases were on going at the same time) and her solicitor managed to reach an agreement before they even went into court, so there is a place for them but unless there is a reason I would always say go it alone.

GTTS

I think it has to be down to the individual. Some Dads are not as confident as others on here at the thought of going it totally alone & some more complex cases will require specific legal advice beyond the capabilities of the average person or indeed, MF.

There are good and bad people in all areas of this industry and there is always much debate on the issue of MF's. Personally, my partner was petrified of speaking in court & had little faith in his ability to negotiate the litigation system on his own, the advice and presence of his MF in the court room were absolutely invaluable to him.

Unfortunately The Legal Services Commission decided against regulation for MF's in April this year but I feel it should, absolutely be regulated to force them to take training and qualifications and weed out the majority of the rubbish.

I have had a mixed experience of Mckenzie friends. For my 2nd directions hearing I used one guy who was fairly good. I felt he understood my case quite well. He only charged me for the hearing itself which was a small amount. I got increased contact on that day, so it was decent outcome. Any phone calls or advice, and preparing a position statement, he didn't charge extra for.

The the second one I used that was recommended to me I found to be a nightmare. She didn't understand my case. Factual details were wrong in lots of documents she prepared for me, and I spent a lot of time having to correct her and explain things to her. I think she was completely money motivated too, as always charged me if i needed quick advice or something like that.

In the end I had to can her documents for the bundle in the final hearing and do it all myself as she cocked it all right up. My stuff turned out miles better than hers on the day anyway.

Shame the mckenzie friends can go around unregulated, as the problem is you will inevitably get right dodgy ones. But then you get right dodgy solicitors too, so you can't win really. It's a bit of a lottery.

At least self repping you know your case inside out, and are willing to go the extra mile to get the outcome you want.

...I'm sorry to hear that Simon, was she the one that I recommended to you?