access and mediation

[carmummy]

Hi, if recieving legal aid, do you have to go mediation, matters are very complicated and I feel I'm not getting the information I need from my solicitors , to make certain decisions.

Constantly having to talk to the secretary, never advising me , when I come out from seeing him I'm even more confused and more scared of making decisions on.my own... and recently been told to not follow through with the letter I have sent out under his original advice because hes spoken to the other solicitor and they decided togther to not follow through.... seems to me the other solicitor is again advising my solicitor..... is that normal?

Originally mediation seemed like a good idea however from what I've researched my solicitor didn't advise me atall what it entaled, I'm scared of going and be pushed into making a Decision I am not comfortable with, and then again being ill advised or not advised atall....

I am thinking about changing solicitors , can I do that when claiming legal aid, both parties know that the issue will go to court so I don't see the point in mediation. It's just prolonging the inevitable isn't it?of course I awould love to get things sorted in mediation but the other party have verbally said to me that no matter what they will not agree or compramise with me, but denied it to their solicitors.

I'm very stressed and confused

You have to go to mediation before applying for a legal aid certificate. You need one of these to take it to court.
I don't take any cases as transfers of legal aid. Some will, but my cleaner gets paid better than you get on some transfers and I'm fed up doing work for nothing on legal aid.

If you are unclear then don't leave the sol office until you understand. Don't be afraid to ask questions or for clarification.

Perhaps take someone with you who can help you by taking notes or asking questions if you don't feel able to or are confused.

You will be required to attempt mediation as part of your entitlement to legal aid. The mediator will speak to you before hand and you can ask any questions or advise of any concerns you have.
It's an oportunity for you both to talk with someone there to help you get to the root of your issues and try and resolve them without it turning into a shouting match.
There will probably be a lot of upset and anger expressed at the first session. People tend to have a lot to get off their chest. If a gurther session doesn't seem to be achieving anything ask the mediator what they think and they will tell you if they don't think there is any point in trying it. If this is because one party os being unreasonable and not trying to achieve anyything then the mediator should be asked to put that in writing for use in court.