Leeds law firm Consilia Legal has announced plans to open a new office in Harrogate dedicated to family law mediation.
The expansion follows a year of strong growth for the firm and the relocation of its city headquarters to new premises in Park Place.
The Harrogate office will launch in January and will be headed up by directors Laura Clapton and Sally Clark, both experienced family solicitors and accredited mediators.
Laura, who also trains local magistrates and legal advisors in the role mediation can play in family disputes, said the decision to establish an office focused specifically on mediation had been prompted by a growing demand for the service in North and West Yorkshire.
Laura said: There has been a significant increase regionally in the number of people using mediation as an alternative to court to resolve issues during divorce and separation.
The trend is being driven by a number of things, including the withdrawal of legal aid for the majority of family law cases and a growing awareness of the impact conflict can have on children.
Consilia Legal’s new office will provide mediation services to individuals and to clients of family lawyers in the Harrogate district for privately funded and parties who qualify for public funding.
Sally said: The response from local family law firms to our Harrogate launch has been excellent.
As a service Consilia Mediation also offers child consultation. Sally is a qualified and experienced child consultant and regularly speaks to children as part of the mediation process.
As Sally discussed: We are looking forward to working with other professionals, parents and children to help parties resolve issues through mediation where appropriate as a way of reducing the stress and cost of divorce and separation.
