No More Wine (And why instruct a family solicitor?)
Example
No more wine. What has that got to do with instructing a family solicitor? A lot! Because:-
No more wine and
No, more wine!
are the same three words, but the punctuation gives those three words two very different meanings.
Fiona Wilson, Head of Family, Solicitor
Lawson West Solicitors, Leicester
Importance of Words
As solicitors we must use the English language as a sword and as a shield, to ensure that our communication is effective and means exactly what you, our client wants it to mean. This is important:-
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In our communication with you. You need to understand clearly what our advice is;
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In any communication with our opponent solicitor, they need to know exactly what your position is and why;
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In the drafting of legal documents which will be relied upon in court, statements of evidence which the court will rely upon; and, lastly
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Court orders.
Solicitors at Lawson West are highly trained, not just in family law, but in being able to use the English Language to its full potential.
Very often we will come into matters, later on, where court applications are incorrectly drafted, or statements filed at court which don’t make sense. On occasion we can correct those, but not without costs and expense to the client.
An incorrectly drafted or indeed incorrectly punctuated
Court Order can have devastating consequences.
You and your ex-spouse may have understood the Order to mean completely different things.
If you cannot agree what the order should have meant, the court will be left to interpret the Order upon your behalf. The court will be left to decide what it thinks the Order means – and one of the parties will end up unhappy, potentially compounded with a cost order. The court is more often than not, likely to follow the strict English interpretation of the Order.
I had a client once, a builder. I recall I had a conversation with him about drafting a legal document and whether he wanted to do it. His response was clear “Can you build a straight brick wall? I can. You are trained to do your job, and I am trained to do mine.” He was absolutely correct, I duly drafted the document.
Please always think about having a solicitor represent you when you have a family issue. We are trained, not just in what we do, but what we say, and how we do it!
If you would like to discuss your situation with one of our trained solicitors, please Contact Us.
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