Furious with CAFCASS and my solicitor, argh!

[Catticus]

Don't know if anyone remembers my post over a month ago where I had an emergency hearing with my ex regarding residency. I said the directions hearing was tomorrow.

Anywho, since the last hearing, I have been trying to contact my solicitor multiple times a weeks, calls emails, leaving messages with her, her secretary, the firms receptionist. Nothing was returned. A LOT of important info, updates in case, CAFCASS not making any contact nor even having our paperwork, mistakes she'd made in my statement, abusive phonecalls from ex, trying to make a appointment that she was meant to make with me before this hearing. Spoke to her secretary again on Thurs who told me 'You haven't left any messages and she can't see you before the hearing'. Errr....I have all the sent emails, call logs, I could not believe my ears. Why is she even representing me she knows nothing! She has a statement riddled with mistakes that SHE made (addresses aren't even correct!) and has not spoken to me apart from making that statement. I had to chase CAFCASS myself, I even had to contact the court to get them to send another lot of paperwork to them because they didn't receive the first lot. Sure that's my solicitors job, not mine!

Then today I call CAFCASS (yet again) as the report was meant to be filed weeks and weeks ago and I've heard nothing...the person assigned to my case is on leave til next week! Get put through to a head guy who then says 'well that isn't right, you've obviously made a mistake, we get in trouble just for being a day late with a report'.

I'm pulling my hair out and at my wits end. My abusive ex is going to get my little girl from me at this rate, I feel like I've been accused of lying, despite being the only one who remotely seems to give a crap about my case, and I seem to be doing everyones jobs for them :( tomorrow is not going to go well for me.

[Kendodd]

Sorry no advice of experience of this but if I were you I'd get a new solicitor and make a complaint about the first.

[Tewa]

As kendodd says - sack them. Plain and simple. Ask for your file and find another one.

A solicitor works for you in the same way a plumber does. If a plumber does a shoddy job you find a better one. You're probably paying big money for no help at all and worst of all your dd's future is at stake.

I'm often amazed at the poor quality of work undertaken by many legal `professionals' - usually by the time I am helping people my first task is to work what hasn't been done and trying to mitigate damage done to their cases.

[Catticus]

I'm on legal aid though, will that effect being able to find a new solicitor :S so confused but I really cannot be represented by this woman!

[raspberryroop]

ring up and ask for their complaint procedure - cafcass and laywer

[mumblechum1]

It may be that they don't yet have a public funding certificate in place, which is why they can't do any work for you yet.

[Catticus]

My certificate came ages ago, it started off as an emergency hearing, so it came really quick, so it's not that :(

[mumblechum1]

Thing is Catticus, the certificate for the emergency won't normally cover any later work.

It wouldn't do any harm to call the Legal Services Commission (the phone no and ref will be on your copy emergency cert) to find out whether this next stage is covered.

Even if that is the case, though, the solicitor should have written to you to explain that they can't do any work until the permanent certificate is in place.

[Catticus]

Yeah, that would at least warrant a phone call if she couldn't do any work with me as wouldn't that mean she wouldn't attend the hearing anyway?