Find someone who cares and is in your corner
For 3 years the person dealing with my case was Jennifer Granby. It is important to say I felt no warmth or care from her. Which would have been so gratefully received as a divorce and a splitting up in my case a 20 year marriage and family is a very hard thing to go through. The "dealings" were done in dry and short manner. And large bills kept coming. It is important to note that the "estimate" amount quoted and the overall amount nearly tripled despite not going through the courts. 1/3 way in I was financially sucked dry of funds and I had to take huge loans - as with divorces the other party has emptied the joined account despite agreement. At times I was getting 2000 and 3000 pound bills monthly right at the beginning just for exchanging paperwork... Jennifer then"kindly" agreed to take 500 pounds a month and then take the entire amount left owing at the end - feeling I will get more then what is owed to her from my divorce. This meant even though I was very unhappy I could not leave anymore to a different solicitor either :( I could hardly ever get through to her, it was days before replies to my emails, mostly automated "I am out of the office" or "I am on holiday". She was always away in meetings and I never felt I was being looked after. It felt as someone was just bureaucratically doing accounting and paperwork. She really could not care less. The papers were always sent to me last minute and I had a couple of days to fill in the information. Strangely for the tens of thousands of pounds charged she never had previous information I sent and it always had to be re-done. She also did not remember basic conversations. What I was advised in meetings was later forgotten by her (to me crucial life decisions) and it often felt as she was acting for the other side. She would be ok with them running late, but would ask me to complete things on their request. She would remind me something that is not due for weeks on their behalf but the other side that was often late for deadlines, that was ok... She was also letting my ex change financial agreements from one day to another and pretty much let him run the show. He could do no wrong from cutting me off my own company with a few day notice, to falsely reporting me for child abuse to adding thousands of pounds to his expenses monthly that were proven incorrect... The worst was - she pressed me to embark on an extra year - earning her a further 20 something thousand pounds of course - she gave me a minimum/maximum estimate and got me to spend a further immense sum and go through a lot of stress to do with an arbitration. I advised her I am uncomfortable about it, particularly that my ex chose two arbitrator candidates for me to choose from. Jennifer failed to advise me that the arbitrator was in the same chambers as my ex's barrister... Which I only found out after the hearing. I hoped that despite her lack of emotion she must know what she is doing. Right before the arbitration, she did not remember her own advice (a meeting which cost a few thousand pounds a year prior). In the end the extra year payments turned out to be a complete waste of my time and unnecessary - no one seemed aware of my situation or my children's needs and my ex husband who clearly had put incorrect calculations which were exposed still got the result he wanted. With me being told I am perfectly fine to "start over" and do not need a car even, despite being a full time carer to a wonderful child who has special needs, with my ex being financially independent and well off. Things that I told Jennifer her were omitted by her and things she put as a request - saying it is a minimum were made to look as I was unreasonable, making me look dishonest. After the poor result and tens of thousands of pounds wasted with her, was the remaining months. Where she advised me she estimates no more then 1000 pounds extra in bills for herself as she has hardly anything to do and admitting she got a very poor result. She went on for 3 months having chats with my ex's solicitors without my agreement due to which I ended up having an unexpected 1500gbp outside bill for a property solicitor (she advised me she made sure I would not need to do it as the other side is dealing with it) and finally in total she sent me two invoices totaling a 3000 extra bill - stating she will take off 500 as a good will gesture to me a final insult when I felt I really would have been better off doing the easy E forms myself and just hiring a barrister at the end. I truly advise anyone who makes such a huge decision to find someone who cares and is in your corner. Not just sends bills and does robotically paperwork... I had a very stressful 3 year experience which affected me and my children - with enough money to pay her bills and the debts mostly accumulated for her.... If anything I probably should recommend my ex's solicitors who seemed passionate.


