Lawyer choice. Should I choose senior lawyer rather than associate?!

[ThisLemonDog]

Hi, I’m going to a mediation to divorce. I am in weak position financially so I have decided to have some legal advise.

The law firm made appointment with an associate lawyer, but am wondering if I should request a senior lawyer, in case things get complicated and need to go to court.

The secretary has told me the associate lawyer has lots of experience and more than capable for my case, but I have heard about some company’s law cases and the lawyer mattered. it is my lifetime event and I am wondering how much difference it’d make.

they also said if case gets more complicated they can always switch to more senior ones.. should I keep the current appointment? I don’t have anyone around to ask this question. If anyone here has experience over layer for separation please advise! TIA

Lawyer here (not this field though).

If that’s genuinely the secretary, she will know nothing about what that solicitor does. Ignore her.

it is correct to believe that the associate won’t make decisions without consulting their superior if they’re unsure. They won’t be entirely unsupervised - a partner will always be assigned to a matter, so when shit goes tits up, it’s their head on the line.

How complicated is your case? Kids, marital home, lots of money to argue over? What’s the difference in hourly rate?

FWIW, my divorce was simple (no assets, no kids) and I took a very junior lawyer after a phone call with a senior partner who was happy with said junior.

Keep your current appointment, the associate will be quite capable and have lots of supervision from more senior lawyers. You can change if things do become more complex but the associate will be cheaper.

You can check how many years ago the solicitor qualified on the SRA website (although this won't reflect pre-qualification experience or experience gained under a different regulator).

Progression from associate to senior associate varies from firm to firm and is not an objective measure but often it doesn't so much reflect the lawyer's ability to handle a case but their ability to bring in work, manage a team and supervise juniors.

Also even if you ask for the senior associate they may not do all of the work. A well managed firm will normally have lawyer's working together on cases to give the best and most cost effective service.

Just to clarify, plenty of firms will have associates who have been doing the job longer than the senior associates or even partners. My team includes an associate who was qualified when I (and our head of department) were still at uni. Some people aren't ambitious to progress to partnership.

Thank you both so so much, this is extremely helpful.

@HiddenInCubeOfCheese
ignore the secretary’s advise…got it! my case is fairly complicated. We have joint mortgage & 2 kids. Not a lot of money to argue over but as I’m financially much much weaker position and he is already giving me pressure for bills food & any expense, I feel I need to know my rights and fight for it. It was joint decision for me to step back from my career for childcare and now I feel hes trying to screw me over or take kids away with his financial “power”. I was shocked to see the advises here in other threads (although I’m very appreciative to open my eyes) that most people said it is his money & it’ll be now 50/50 for everything as we are no longer together.
the fee difference between associate and senior was around £140/hour. I’ll keep the associate appointment. Thank you for your advise!

@WorriedRelative
Really interesting thank you.
I have checked SRA website, she was admitted June 2022 and annual practicing certificate from Nov 2024. Also from the photo from the firm I don’t think she has been there for a long time, but both of your advises gave me confidence to go with the associate for now.

once again thank you so much for your advise!

So, the SRA dates mean she qualified in 2022 (likely she did two years training in order to qualify). The Nov 2024 is a date everyone who is currently licensed to practice as a solicitor will have ie you have to renew yourself every year and it’s the same time every year. Mine will also say November 2024.

See how you go with the associate and remember that they will have seen your circumstances many many times and know what to do. A lot of this will come down to old fashioned negotiation skills rather than black letter law.

if you’ve been married a long time, amazing. Your solicitor should also mention to you chances of you staying in the home with your children until the youngest is 18/out of full time education (should you get custody).

Just try to keep a level head so you’ve got the clarity to know how to prove eg it was a joint decision that you look after the children, if you shared finances pre-marriage etc. Don’t buy a dog and bark yourself…let her take the stress, you conserve your energy!

In a previous life, I was employed as a PA in a ‘magic circle’ corporate law firm - if I had had no knowledge or understanding of what the lawyer with whom I worked did - believe me - I would have been sacked for incompetence! Behind every good lawyer is a great assistant … 😬

Oh, I agree - in my trainee induction at an MC firm, it was made very clear never to piss off your PA and instead make them your BFF, and I was genuinely friends with mine. However, it’s 100% not for a PA to tell a client the abilities or merits of a fee earner.

@HiddenInCubeOfCheese again thank you for extremely helpful information. I really appreciate it, I have some friends I can talk to but they don’t know the law or divorce process, so I feel like I’m in mud sometimes. My husband doesn’t have common sense but he is academic so I feel scared of negotiation too.. but now you mentioned proving joint decision etc I feel I started to know what kind of preparation I should be doing! Will dig out the emails this weekend. He can be mentally abusive, maybe I should try get evidence for that too.

We were married for 10 years, I hope I’ll get more than half custody but he doesn’t want to give me money and just being nasty / stubborn he will probably ask for 50/50. I have done most of housework and childcare up to recent days so he isn’t doing things well (different standard & careless too) I’m worried especially about mediation for children, he has got it wrong so many times already. However if mediation goes his way, I’ll have to move out and he’ll try buy this family house, the environment is better for kids I might become the one to be kicked out & have less custody. That’s my biggest worry.

the mediation is on Thu, solicitors meeting is on Wed for 1 hour. The PA said it should be enough time to give me all advise but she did mention the solicitor is also available on Tuesday. Do you think I should ignore her and assume I’ll need more than 1 hour of advise..?! I’ll be working on Tue and have to zoom meet in the car which isn’t ideal but now I’m thinking maybe £2-300 is worth spending extra…

I’d stick to the 1 hour. Mediation isn’t going to go his way or your way necessarily. Nothing will be decided on that you don’t both agree on. If you can’t agree, it will end up in court for a judge to decide.

OP mediation is a chance to be supported to reach agreement. It's not possible to "go his way" because it's about agreement by consent if possible. To prepare for mediation it helps to know what you are asking for as a settlement.

I know it's very scary but your position legally isn't that complex. This isn't a case with hidden assets or trusts and cash abroad an associate will be more than competent. If money is tight don't throw it away. An hour with a solicitor initially will be fine but go prepared. Have a list of all assets and debts including pensions and property values.

Good luck.

1. PAs absolutely do know what the solicitors they work with typically deal with. It's their job.
2. With respect, from what you've said your situation isn't complicated. It's something your solicitor sees all the time.

@Mooselooseinmyhoose @SlagPit @Mumof3confused thank you so much. It’s been such an eye opener here. Agreed my case isn’t complicated but not very simple (as in for example no asset / no children), but appreciate the layer see it all the time. Really hope it doesn’t drag on and we end up in court, especially when I need to watch pennies from now on.

thanks again everyone who’s commented here, much appreciated.

It’s not complicated, in a sense that it’s nothing new to those with experience. They will be guided by what a judge would likely decide in court, and very likely they will have seen many cases very much like yours, and should be able to give you a good idea based on this.

I would ask them what your best and worst case scenario is, and ask what advice they’d be giving you if HE was their client. This will give you the full picture.

@Mumof3confused amazing advise thank you, will def ask this to the lawyer.

Mediation isn’t considered appropriate where there has been abuse. Consider carefully if you think you are likely to give way to pressure from him. The mediator is there to help you reach agreement, and it won’t necessarily be one that is 100 % fair or what you are legally entitled to. Remember your starting point is 50 % of all assets, including savings and pension, and that this figure can be weighted in your favour as you have had a smaller earning capacity due to you taking on the bulk of the child care, and not progressing in your career, but at the same time supporting him in his career. Your earning potential will likely lag behind his for some time.
I think if you can manage the extra hour with the solicitor, it might be worthwhile. Make sure you have as much detail as possible at your fingertips, eg values of pension, house, outstanding mortgage, your likely wages if you can get a job, cost of retraining, cost of childcare, cost of rent, any benefits you might be entitled to.

Hmmm. I’m a lawyer (not this field) and I was coming in to say that you are better off with a good associate who is giving you her full attention and has time to be across the details but 2022 qualification is very junior. That’s only 3 years practicing. If it was 7 or 8 years, that would be fine.

I agree you should go to the appointment and ask questions about her experience, how may divorced she has handled, who is supervising her, etc. You will form a view on whether she seems knowledgeable and up to the job or not. Also, remember you can always ask her to run her advice past one of the partners or a more senior colleague if something is a particularly important point to you and you don’t like what she’s telling you.

Also, do not be railroaded into anything at the mediation on the spot if you aren’t happy with it. You are entitled to time to think over whatever offer your STBExDH puts on the table, and to talk to your lawyer privately, and to ask her to check her advice with a more senior colleague.

I usually go for the person who feels sharper on the details rather than the biggest title. A senior can be great, but an associate who’s switched on and responsive can save you money and stress. I’ve worked with court martial defense attorneys before, and that reminded me that experience matters, but so does having someone who actually has time for you. Maybe meet both and see who gives you clearer vibes.