Solicitor asking colleague to attend hearing?

[Fleecyslippers]

Approx 18 months into ongoing contact issues with abusive Ex (he has cautions for assault against DD) Horrible, messy saga with a manipulative, controlling man.
My solicitor has been brilliant and so far, has warded off all his attempts to speed up process of increasing contact without evidence of change Update hearing today - he has started some 'therapeutic' work with the NSPCC and as far as I knew, it was a simple formality for the judge to hear that he had attended the course so far, was engaging etc.
I emailed my solicitor last night to confirm that she didn't need me to attend court and she replied at 6pm to say that no it was fine.
10am I had a phone call from her colleague, who I've never met, who didn't have a real clue about the case and who said that Ex was today asking for an albeit small but very specific increase to contact. I panicked, said no way and tried to explain the reasons why (kids bedtimes etc although more complex than that) My own solicitor was in another court. Colleague was on a 'bad' line and just wasn't clued in to the issues.
She rang back 2 hours later to say that judge had granted the extra contact. And that there is ANOTHER hearing next week to discuss the extra contact that I have suggested over Easter.
Should I have been able to ask for the whole thing to be adjourned today? I just feel pretty shocked as I was not expecting there to be any movement on contact due to what I'd been told by my own solicitor. and I can't afford to keep paying for all these hearings. Feeling a bit let down but perhaps it's unusual in that she's dealt with my case and done all of the hearings herself so far?

How old is dd?

Your solicitor is at fault.

The trouble is they would not be paid a penny more to do the job properly, than screw it up the way they have.

You will have little or no luck taking your solicitors on .... they are solicitors!

I think your best bet is to dispense with their services, and make clear to the judge at the next hearing that your instructions have not been followed, hence your change of solicitor.

But, on the other hand you might want to pick your battles. Hard decision.
Welcome to how solicitors make money.

If your solicitor was in another court then he/she may not have been able to leave, even if that hearing had overrun and she was due in your hearing. At least someone attended on your behalf. I think you need to have a chat with your solicitor and find out why a colleague went - was it scheduling, keeping costs down, or another reason? Also ask where you can go from here and what can be done. I expect they will be happy to explain everything in detail.

I'd hestitate to dispense with their services without first understanding what has happened. And sometimes judges are unpredictable. First port of call is definitely your solicitor, if you are not happy, ask to speak to their supervising partner.

Sorry I missed that you were funding yourself.

In which case it might be better to negotiate:

1. Only the one solicitor attends all hearings.

1. The fees you now pay for these 2 hearings.

Thank you - I'm loath to change solicitors as she has been so good up until this point. I have emailed her and have an appointment next week prior to court.
I wasn't sure if it was reasonable to ask for an explanation as to what had happened. She was actually in another court completely around 40 miles away so can't help but thinking that she did know that she wouldn't be available for my hearing.
With regards costs, Ex self reps so will possibly have deliberately refused to engage about Easter contact knowing that it will mean me paying for another hearing

It would not be grounds for adjournment. You have legal representation, the solicitor is working for you should know what's going on. That's what they're getting paid for.

It's fairly common - when I am in court I frequently see different solicitors representing the other party and have also seen one solicitor at court with more than one client having consecutive hearings. A solicitor typically has a lot of clients so there will inevitably be clashes when they have two hearings come up at the same time.

If you're not happy with them sack them. They work for you. Don't waste your time making an `official' complaint though: The Legal Services Commission almost never do anything about poor service (and to be honest I don't think this is a bad example by any stretch of the magazine).