Name: HCL Hanne & Co Solicitors

Description: Our family department, headed by Sue Harlow, is the largest department within Hanne & Co. We currently have ten specialist solicitors, who between them deal with all aspects of family law.

Our solicitors? experience ranges from the newly qualified to those with over twenty years experience in this field - the majority having also completed training contracts at the firm. The four senior members of the department are also equity partners.

We have members of the specialist panels: the Children Panel and the Family Panel. In addition, we have two SFLA accredited specialists and all of our solicitors, after the specified qualification period, are members of the SFLA. Two of our senior solicitors are trained mediators. We believe that family law requires a rather different approach to many other areas of the law. The aggressive, adversarial approach adopted by many of our colleagues can all too often inflame and prolong disputes, which could often be resolved through conciliation and negotiation. We are not afraid of going to court - many of our cases demand urgent court action and we find ourselves there most weekdays. There is, however, for a growing number of clients, a real desire to find an alternative to litigation and we will always look for that option.

This might sometimes be by mediation or the involvement of other agencies, but often simply by approaching the case in a sensitive manner - remembering always that we may be changing the course of people's lives by our actions and the way in which we conduct our cases.

We pride ourselves on our high level of client care. We keep our clients fully appraised of developments in their case, of the various options at each stage and of the implications of various courses. Whilst representing your views, we will not shirk from giving forthright advice even when we know it may be unpalatable. We are well aware of the bad press solicitors receive - not so much because of the outcome of their cases but because of the size of their bills! However, are aware that our rates are extremely competitive and well below those of the West End firms who are so often our opponents.

We have held a Legal Aid Franchise (now Specialist Quality Mark) in family law since 1995 and will offer public funding for all clients who are eligible. We are the largest public funding (formerly Legal Aid) providers in the Borough of Wandsworth. For us, this is never a second class service.

We take on our cases on their merits, not by the ability of the client to pay our bills.

HCL Hanne & Co was established in 1898 by Herbert Curtis Lee Hanne, who was a pioneer in providing legal services to all, regardless of wealth or social standing - a tradition that HCL Hanne & Co is proud to maintain. The firm's roots are in Battersea, London SW11, although branch offices were maintained in the 1970s and the 1980s in the Temple and Surbiton, Surrey. In 1996 the firm moved to new premises in the heart of Clapham Junction, consolidating the firm under one roof.

In 1994, HCL Hanne & Co was one of the first firms in the country to earn a franchise from the Legal Aid Board (now known as the Legal Services Commission). This was and continues to be formal recognition of the service that we offer. We have, more recently, entered into a contract with the Legal Services Commission to supply legal services to our clients in a number of different areas.

Category: Wandsworth

Url: http://www.hanne.co.uk/

Current Rating: 5.00

Number of Reviews/Comments: 0