Services

How we can help you

McKenzie Friend

For each court hearing it is generally imperative that you provide a succinct professional Position Statement which will get your view and requests before the judge. Our experienced and knowledgeable McKenzie Friends will assist you in drafting a relevant Position Statement that will get your position over to the court in an effective way. They will also sit next to you in court and can provide advice on any aspect of the conduct of your case, including: (i) Points of law (ii) Issues that you (litigant in person (LIP)) may wish to raise in court. (iii) Questions that you may wish to ask witnesses.

Free initial phone consultation

When you Contact Us if we are not able to speak to you immediately, we will call you back shortly afterwards and provide a free initial phone consultation on the general aspects of your case. No cost and no obligation.

Assessment and advice session

For more specific information and support we can provide assessment and advice sessions either face to face or by telephone/Skype. Generally depending on the complexities of the case a one or two hour session is suitable. At the end of that meeting you will have a good idea of the options and practicalities of any course of action you may be considering.

Telephone and email support

With our fixed prices we include reasonable telephone and email support. Or we can provide any extra support at a low cost.

Assistance in court

Even if you are a confident speaker in other situations and are well informed regarding the court process, going alone is not generally recommended. A supposedly simple hearing can throw up technical points and important decisions you have to decide on fairly quickly with little or no support available. Our McKenzie Friends who accompany you into court will ensure you are making decisions and putting forward your case to the court in a manner which is far more likely to get you the results you want. We will help you to stop making the mistakes that many parents do when they enter the rather bewildering system.

Court documents

The documents that you may wish to put before the court include statements, skeleton arguments, opening and closing submissions are tremendously important. To ensure they will be well received by the judge and anyone else reading them we strongly recommend you have the assistance of our McKenzie Friends. Too often parents will damage their case somewhat or even sabotage it completely by filing and serving documents which are counter-productive in content and poorly drafted. We help you get your view over to the court in an appropriate and an effective way.

Informal mediation

At times if there is enough communication between the parents we can provide a realistic plan that will save you money, time and stress. A simple get together in an independent venue with an experienced McKenzie Friend can be enough to reach an informal agreement setting you on the right path.

The service Jeff provided me in the very difficult situation, was second to none. I may have been paying for a service but I feel indebted to Jeff. – A very positive result for both of my kids.
– Mr P. (Greater Manchester)
Having utilised Colin’s services previously, I had no hesitation in engaging him once again to assist with a new matter. Although I’m now a veteran of over ten court hearings concerning various child-related issues, and was confident of representing myself in court without accompaniment, the assistance Colin gave in advising on the correct application to make to court, drafting the position statements, and helping me focus on how to present the case on the day, helped me achieve the required outcome.
– Mr T. (Merseyside)
Having been given notice that my ex-partner was applying to the Family Courts to relocate our daughter to Australia, I knew I had a serious, potentially life changing, problem on my hands but I was instantly certain I would be defending myself. Previous experience I had garnered in the courts was nothing short of depressing and had left me eminently reluctant to be legally represented. Aware that various historical incidents provided for a strong defence, I simply did not trust any solicitor to care enough to collate and disclose the wealth of information I had at my disposal in the manner which best suited my case, nor did I have the funds it would have cost me to commission them to do so.

Previous experience had also taught me that attending court is an overwhelming and daunting experience so I was conscious that I needed some form of guidance to see me through to the end. Which is when I found Family Law Decisions and in particular, Jeff Botterill, whom I knew straight away was the person I wanted by my side during the whole process. Jeff is extremely calm and reassuring with a knowledge base that is immediately evident. It also helped to learn that once upon a time he had been in my shoes and could recognise the anguish and anxiety I was feeling.

Jeff Botterill is simply a genius and I’m utterly convinced my life would not be so wonderful now if it were not for him. From the moment he agreed to assist me, I knew I was in great hands and a lot of the tension which inevitably builds up seemed to dissipate there and then. Once we got started, Jeff was great at stripping the emotion away and helping you to focus on what is important and ignoring what is irrelevant, as it is very easy to get caught up in the bitterness and unjust nature of everything. He keeps you thinking straight.
He is also a master at drawing up any court documents that will be required along the way and is exceptional at articulating every point of your defence. I was truly blown away when I saw my initial position statement – It summed up perfectly in 10 or 12 sentences what I had been frustratingly screaming about for years. A work of art.

Long story short, my ex-partner dropped her application completely after the first hearing and I was able to amend the existing contact order we had in place to provide for more time with my daughter at weekends and school holidays. The result is my relationship with my daughter is as good now as it’s ever been and I feel that I have been treated fairly by the courts. This is all thanks to Jeff.

I would recommend Jeff in an instant. He really is a godsend.
– Mr P. (London)