Monday 2 April 2012

Now an award winning divorce lawyer!

I've often noted, with a cynical sneer, those businesses who insist on calling themselves award winning.  Lawyers, of course, are not immune to this form of vanity publishing.  They hold their own private awards dinners at which they honour each other in sometimes abstruse and downright arcane categories.  The Oscars for legal geeks, but without tributes to make up artists!  I suppose that if I were awarded something by my industry peers, I'd suddenly lose my cynicism and take pride in the fact that members of my own profession held me in conspicuously high regard - but that hasn't happened yet.  Shame.

However, this weekend I was honoured by the people who count far more than your professional peers - the sort of people who actually use the professional services of divorce lawyers.  So if you look at the following link, you should find me fairly easily - I'm the one called jonathancj, obviously.

 Wikivorce awards

What's Wikivorce all about?

Wikivorce came about when its founder went online to look for information to help him with his own divorce and found himself having to put together fragments of information from a variety of sources.  He decided that it would have been far more helpful if they had all been in one place and set himself the task of constructing that resource.  Quite quickly it moved from being just an encyclopedia of information to a community of people talking about what they had learned from their own relationship failures and passing on useful information.  The great benefit of this is that it has moved to being more of a tailored advice service, albeit informal in nature, rather than leaving it to individuals to try to apply generic information to their own specific circumstances.  It does not hold itself out as giving legal advice but most of the members of the site have themselves experienced separation and can help with the emotional side of the separation as well as the practical side.

And why is it important?

At the awards dinner, the site founder highlighted the effects of the withdrawal of legal aid from family law.  More and more people will be trying to negotiate quite a complex web of law and procedure without the aid of a specialist who is familiar with how it all fits together.  Where on earth can they turn?  How can they learn what to expect at a first hearing?  Is mediation really a good idea?  What is a hearing really like?  Who can they ask these questions when they simply cannot afford to pay a solicitor to advise?

For so many questions, the internet is the first port of call now.  You're thinking about a major purchase?  Google product reviews.  You have a technical question on any particular topic?  Google it.  Search for help with divorce and the first page of the results will bring up Wikivorce and you have access to a community of people happy to help and with first hand experience.  No, it can't substitute for the direct help of your own solicitor.  For the best level of help, you need someone like me.  But if that's just not an affordable option, Wikivorce will stand in the gap.  It remains the case that the helpful people online will often advise other users that they really need to get a solicitor - there's a limit to what they can do to help - but there's no doubt at all that people using the site will be much better prepared for the procedure than those who try to go it alone.

Blog Disclaimer: Nothing in www.austinkempfamilylaw.blogspot.com blog should be construed as legal advice. If you require legal advice upon any family law related matter then you should instruct a solicitor. Any links to other blogs or web sites are provided for convenience only and Austin Kemp Solicitors cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of such linked blogs/sites.

22 comments:

  1. Jonathan, your Award was richly deserved, and a small reflection of all the work you do for the members of Wikivorce, both on the forum and behind the scenes.

    You average an impressive 100 posts per month - and that's in addition to your day job and family commitments! You are definitely an asset to the site, and very much appreciated by the members and the management team.

    As you say in your blog, with the impending death of Legal Aid as we know it, there will be a gap for those who are seeking good, reliable information, and Wikivorce will be able to provide that - not just due to the 100,000s of pages of information we have, but also because of the excellent information provided for by contributors like yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice blog.. thanks for sharing important information...
    divorce solicitor manly

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Mediation Process can help parents learn how to co-parent and come up with a visitation schedule or custody plan on their own terms. Divorce is usually not a "win- loss" process.
    sue home wrecker.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Over £200 I paid to Wikidivorce for drawing Saparation Agreement seven months ago. Lack of communication from Austinkempfamily and still non-resolved issue I received within 7 months. I am still awaiting your reply on my last email....Do not use on-line services! Go to CAB for DIY divorce!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Same as Victoria, paid a fixed fee on Wikivorce of £200 but due to incompetence, mistakes and constant chasing, I ended up with a bill of £1,000 from Austin Kemp! Very expensive service, not at all what I had expected and completely misled. Divorce took over a year to complete. Recommend CAD too ! Charge is £220 per hour!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi

      you have to contact the owner of Wikivorce. I found him very reliable person, who loves his creation, and is very responsible.

      Delete
  6. Employing a spring maintenance product, you could clean room of cases, particularly whenever they’re brushed or lined. Before making your dishes during the cabinets, be certain that it’s lined when they aren’t lined then just try a liner. You can get a cells lining paper within the market and sprinkle inside any cabinets to your kitchen. cleaning services in dubai

    ReplyDelete
  7. Taking into account my own sad experience, now I'm sure that even if you think a divorce is going to be simple because you and your spouse agree on everything, it is still important to have an experienced divorce lawyer in order to avoid any "surprises."

    ReplyDelete
  8. Although international genuine system contains evolved to help you embrace including codify important, non-derogable person's rights (three), the history of green legal regimes haven't much advanced simply because far. Although former found a place around the highest a better standard of universally recognized rights, the last have primarily recently and even over a good deal opposition, reached an important modest a better standard of recognition to provide a legally governed activity during the economics and even politics in sustainable creation. cleantechlaws

    ReplyDelete
  9. Am so happy that I contacted Dr.Agbazara who was able to bring back my ex within 48hours, Now i am happy to make a good testimony about this powerful spell caster that helped my love life to be in existence once again, if you have any kind of problem you can contact Dr.Agbazara, through his WhatsApp/call number on +2348104102662, or email him on: ( agbazara@gmail.com )

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nice post!
    These days, people face many problems in families that break peace and happiness of their lives and the issues like property settlement, unhappy married life, adoption, abduction, divorce, child support etc.These problems need extra attention to be done legally,so people need to hire family lawyer.Family Lawyer Of Saskatoon

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for this great information very insightful. If anyone is facing a problem to find a good <a href="https://www.kenneylegaldefense.us/criminal-lawyers/> Defence Attorney</a> please feel free to contact Kenney Legal Defence. One of the best Criminal Defence firm had an experience over 20 years. Do contact if you need help 24/7

    ReplyDelete