C C Smale Family Lawyer

Since I posted this a few days ago I have seen a commentary here.

Judges, in my experience, have refused to allow mention of the words “Parental Alienation Syndrome” in their courts. I expect this is a thing of the past following this case. They will not be able to deny it any more.

The commentary is worth analysing as it demonstrates what non-custodial parents are up against and the control that custodial parents have.

“As a result of the failure to secure a normal relationship with the father and the high level of parental conflict (the child) had suffered emotional harm.”

The child, now twelve, refused to speak to the father and put his hands over his ears during contact with the father. He says he may consider seeing his father after his GCSEs.

Let’s apportion blame where it is due – seeing as the court found that the father was blameless. Call this child emotionally distressed if you want, which is what he undoubtedly is. More significantly, this is one spoilt child and one mother who has caused serious long term problems yet untold. Credit to the father; I find it extraordinary that he didn’t walk away a long time ago; another “dead beat dad”!

Legal aid is in crisis at the present time.

I frequently get enquiries from people asking if I do legal aid work. The answer is that I don’t. I ask them how many solicitors they have tried and they usually tell me they have tried many solicitors but none can offer them an appointment for two to four weeks.

I took a decision a few years back not to do legal aid work. I am not totally opposed to legal aid. I think it should be available for criminal cases and public law (cases against social services).

The situation is not about to get better because the number of solicitors firms providing legal aid work is about to drop by nearly half.

My position is this:  If you phone me up or email me with a good case and if you are eligible for legal aid I will take your case on and I will charge you £65 per hour inclusive of VAT. You will have no paperwork to fill in and no bureaucracy to deal with and I will start work straight away. I am especially willing to help people in Manchester, Rochdale, Burnley, Lancashire and West Yorkshire areas.

I cannot do this for everyone. If you are not eligible for legal aid  I will charge you £125 per hour inclusive of VAT and I will not take on any cases if I don’t like them.

I have not posted anything on this website for a while.

I am supportive of men’s and fathers’ rights, which is something I have tried to express in some of the things I write.

A number of people have contacted me to say to say they are distrusting of the idea that any solicitor could work on the part of men under what they see as a corrupt system. Fathers4Justice, for example, discourage fathers from using a solicitor at all. I have also been contacted by someone who considers family law and those who practice it to be “Satanic” and I can promise that person that I took your point seriously and I read up on the things you emailed me and I thought about them for the past two weeks.

1. Family Law. Family law deals with intimate relationships whether married or unmarried ones, and whether with or without children.
2. Marriage and divorce.  Marriage is not about “a piece of paper”. Marriage (or civil partnership) creates legal obligations.
3. Cohabitation (and other intimate relationships). What if you have had a relationship with someone other than a married relationship?
4. Money and Property. When relationships break down you may need advice as to how to deal with the financial aspects of this.
5. Arrangements about children. Where will they live, and what time will they spend with each parent and what kind of a say can I have in my child’s upbringing?

I have been busy with other projects and the old was looking outdated, (I am a lawyer and not a computer expert).

Keep looking on here over the next few days and weeks as I develop my new website devoted to Family Law.