Family law expert and mediator, Gayle Rowley, from our Leicester office has recently been accredited by the Family Mediation Council – a recognition of her commitment to this area of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
This recent accomplishment signifies a remarkable year for Gayle after she became Partner and head of our Leicester family law team in June 2023.
Gayle commented on her accreditation and why the use of mediation and ADR by separating couples is becoming more popular than ever before:
“It’s no secret that family courts are still exceptionally busy.
“We have seen an influx of mediation enquiries recently, so the feeling is, this option has certainly become more popular and a good way to avoid costly and stressful court proceedings.
“With mediation for divorcing couples on the rise and changes to the Family Procedure Rules (FPR) to further enforce out-of-court resolution options, we expect this demand to continue so having this accreditation really solidifies our commitment to this service.
“While court is still an option for certain situations, such as where there has been domestic abuse, the whole family team at Nelsons is supportive and encouraging mediation and other forms of ADR, such as collaborative law. So it is encouraging to see this trend.”
Award recognition
Gayle’s accreditation is not the only cause for celebration, either, with further success from Senior Associate, Naomi Bond, who won the Junior Solicitor of the Year award at the Leicestershire Law Society Awards in May.
Gayle said:
“We were thrilled to announce Naomi’s win at this year’s Leicestershire Law Society Awards, taking home the title of ‘junior solicitor of the year’. Having qualified in 2019, Naomi was recently promoted to senior associate and this award just further recognises the brilliant work she does, building a great rapport with clients and always going the extra mile.
“She has truly flourished in the two years since joining us and is a great representation for Nelsons and our Leicester team, and we’re all very proud.”
Our Leicester Family Law team
Gayle continued by sharing what makes our Leicester family team so strong and how she plans to encourage them to develop:
“Our team has more than 100 years combined legal experience dealing with countless cases.”
“Associate Angela Maxfield and recently promoted Senior Associate Louise Scott specialise in family finance cases and children matters. Private children law specialist Rina Mistry, who was also promoted to Senior Associate last year, has acted in many complex cases including international clients dealing with child relocation; a burgeoning area of her practice.
“We also have the invaluable support of two brilliant paralegals Claire Farmer and Gurvir Kaur. Together everyone works extremely well; we collaborate and discuss complexities to ensure our clients are given the best support possible. It’s a privilege to work with such a team and I am keen to support them in the areas they wish to develop. With so many family law changes in the last few years, and more emphasis on ADR, we know our services will continue to be in demand.
“Nelsons also strives to empower clients by working holistically and showing real understanding of the emotional side to our cases. We signpost towards additional support services that can help at what can be a very difficult time and can of course access other legal and financial advice from across the firm, should this be required.”