Anyone changed Solicitors midway through?

Hi All

When I first applied for the divorce I saw around 4 solicitors until I found one that I felt comfortable dealing with. Unfortunately she took early retirement mid-way through and the replacement I have I don't really feel I gel with.

Have any of you changed solicitors part way through and if so was it a huge hassle and extra cost involved for them to go over the divorce to familiarise?

Thanks

I did look at changing solicitors part way through but in the end decided to do away with one altogether and just use a direct access barrister.
To be honest I was prepared to go through the hassle of changing because I did not have confidence in the solicitor I had but the cost of doing so was quite high. You have to pay for another solicitor to read your file and get up to speed with your case - get a couple of quotes from solicitors to see how much this would cost. From what I remember they wanted to charge me around £2000 (in London, hourly rate was £300+vat). That was enough to put me off switching to another solicitor.

Blimey! That was my fear!! Ok I will see if I can persevere with this one and hope she can cut the mustard! Thanks for your reply

I changed twice. The first solicitor left the firm almost as soon as I started with them and I didnt rate the replacement. With the second, the owner was brilliant but quickly handed me to a junior who was very young and very inexperienced.

My third solicitor was very very good and got me a settlement that the first two were not predicting at all.

I am not sure how much it cost for them to get up to speed, but in hindsight they only concentrate on the facts that matter rather than the fluff, so probably not as long as we might think.

I believe if you seriously do not have confidence, then consider changing, perhaps ask how much they will charge to get up to speed.

I wish I had changed as my divorce cost me over ten grand and yes I got a 60/40 split as I have both children. We also went for child maintenance and I haven't received a penny since. When your solicitor then tells you she never thought he would pay anyway you wonder why she applied and didn't go for more of the house split!! No faith in a you them at all.

What exactly are the issues you have with the solicitor? If they are just minor things maybe you can work through them. If however you don't think you are getting the best advice and representation for your money, then do get some quotes from other solicitors. My file was quite lengthy and consists of complex legal arguments requiring a lot of thought - not your standard run of the mill divorce case. Maybe if your case is not so complex it may not cost so much. There is no harm in making enquiries.

I changed solicitor after she was taking private phone calls to her son during the hour I was paying £250 for without so much as an apology. I told her I was very unhappy with her manner and her judgements, paid the bill and left.

I asked around for recommendations from friends and booked a free consultation with another lawyer. I simply asked the question - how would you have acted in this situation, outlining what had happened with my ex.

I was impressed with how she responded and I then produced a letter from the first lawyer with name etc deleted. She was shocked at the tone of the letter and said such a letter would never have been sent from their company. I decided to employ her.

She turned out to be excellent for me, securing a very good settlement, but most importantly protecting me from the worst excesses of my ex's behaviour.