Slow Solicitor

chewthecarpet

Thank you, that sounds feasible, but would court action need to be carried out by a barrister?

tooldle

In my limited experience, yes.  Link below gives information on the role of a Barrister. 
Information about barristers (barstandardsboard.org.uk)
If the ex partner and your sister cannot agree on a way forwards, the only option is court. 

tightauldgit

chewthecarpet said:

Thank you, that sounds feasible, but would court action need to be carried out by a barrister?

It doesn't need to be, but I think many solicitors recommend it. I got a barrister for my divorce hearing and on balance it was probably worth it. They are expensive, but if they get the job done then it might be worth the money.

As for the original solicitor, things do tend to move very slowly and I had the same issue with the first solicitor I used for my divorce - they were quite happy to just sit and wait and exchange the occasional letter. 

A bill of £1000 isn't all that much when it comes to solicitors unfortunately so I don't think it would be seen as unreasonable - if they've put in a few hours getting to know the case, done a bit of research, sent a letter out and exchange emails with the client that's £1000. 

Every email sent to a solicitor chasing can be £100 - £50 to read yours and £50 to reply. And since in most cases you are paying for their time rather than any specific outcome then it all racks up without much actually happening. 

At this stage there's a decision to be made - you either have a conversation with the original solicitor and set out that you need to move forward on this matter but that costs need to be limited or you find a new solicitor and have the same conversation. 

chewthecarpet

Thank you, that is great. I really appreciate your help.

chewthecarpet

What I don't understand is that my sister's ex has received just the initial letter from the solicitor, to which he has not replied, so why is a barrister needed now? Surely there is a fair way to go before court action is reached, so further letters must be written that must be the responsibility of the solicitor?

tooldle

It all it all comes down to what your sister instructed the solicitor to do. What did the letter say?

tightauldgit

chewthecarpet said:

What I don't understand is that my sister's ex has received just the initial letter from the solicitor, to which he has not replied, so why is a barrister needed now? Surely there is a fair way to go before court action is reached, so further letters must be written that must be the responsibility of the solicitor?

If they aren't replying to the solicitor's letter then there isn't really any way to go before court action. 

It depends what your sister has told them to do or agreed with them to do but if they won't negotiate then court action is the only option open to them. 

You can continue to rack up legal bills sending them letters and letters and letters but if they aren't engaging with them what's the point. 

One thing I learned from my divorce .... if in doubt, File the court action first, then negotiate if possible. Otherwise the whole thing just drags on and on and ends up in court anyway. 

chewthecarpet

Thank again. I have a little more light: the solicitor has contacted my sister and said that 'several' letters have been sent, which have been ignored, so he proposes to engage a barrister and go to court. The barrister said that he wishes to explore mediation first, but I don't see how that is possible unless it is through the court, forcing the ex to open dialogue.

tooldle

Mediation will to an extent force the ex’s hand. If the ex chooses not to engage with mediation, that choice will not well with a judge. Don’t forget, there are costs at stake as well as the property. Are there any special circumstances involved?

chewthecarpet

Not that I am aware of. Obviously costs are a big part of the situation and could have been kept to a minimum if the ex had been reasonable.