Advice on what to expect from divorce solicitor

[PorridgeGoneWrong]

All

A friend of mine is going through a sticky divorce and asked me to post here on her behalf for advice (she has login problems).

In her words:

"Does anyone have any advice regarding divorce solicitors? I’ve been with mine over a year. So far paying out over £8,000. There have been lots of delays, mainly due to her not acting in good time or forgetting to do things.

We have only just had our first court hearing. The court's timetable is not being followed, everything is being done last minute. I had 4 days prior to the first hearing to consider my husbands form E. It should have been disclosed weeks earlier. My divorce is complex. It didn’t give me enough time to check his evidence properly.

I have written to my solicitor to express my dissatisfaction. She has replied that she has been too busy with other more pressing work. I appreciate that she is busy and that with COVID it’s difficult.

My friend, also a lawyer, says this kind of thing is normal for solicitors and I should accept it. Is she right?"

Thanks.

No. I would change solicitors. That is ridiculous and your solicitor isn't even apologetic. I have had a stupidly long legal wrangle with my ex. My solicitor made one mistake, but owned up, apologised and gave me free sessions to fix it.

Thank you for the reply. I also told her to change solicitors.

She is really feeling intimidated by her ex, who is absolutely refusing to disclose anything and she made the mistake of leaving the house without getting copies of some important papers.