Duncan Lewis

Romford Office

Crime and Civil cases

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Domestic Violence – How Can a Solicitor Help?

A solicitor can help you should you or your children become involved in issues of domestic violence. The solicitor will be able to advise you on matters such as legal protection. Suitable family solicitors in the area can easily be found through the police, women’s centres, aid groups and rape crisis centres all over the country, and those recommended by such organisations will usually be sympathetic, experienced, and easy to approach.

A solicitor should be approached the moment you make the decision that matters have gone too far and that the domestic situation will not rectify itself by your doing nothing. It is perfectly acceptable in most cases for a friend can accompany you for support, and most solicitors never object to such an arrangement. The first interview will last a fair length of time, as all the issues will need to be explored and laid out, and the various courses of legal action available to you will be explained in clear and jargon-free terms.

If the legal action is being taken to protect yourself and your children from physical harm or abuse, you may be able to get legal aid to cover the costs; in that case your partner’s income will not be a factor in determining your eligibility for aid.

Among other services, the solicitor can help to immediately address the situation by advising you about taking out an injunction. There are civil injunctions and protection orders, and the injunction itself will require some party to do or not do something, with occupation orders and non-molestation orders being the two principal types. In the case of domestic abuse the relevant injunction will be the non-molestation order, which is designed to prevent your partner abusing you.

If this is not deemed sufficient or effective then an occupation order can keep your partner away from the family home and immediate area; an occupation order will often be the best option for women who have had to leave home because of domestic violence, or who don’t feel safe living in the same house with their partner.

You can make an application for an injunction yourself, but legal advice is always a good idea in these matters and a good solicitor, recommended by the above-mentioned agencies in your local area, should be contacted as the first step in matters involving domestic abuse and violence, as he or she will be experienced in such cases and able to guide you through the maze of options open to you.

A solicitor such as Duncan Lewis will also be able to sort out whether you can get public funding –such as that from Community Legal Services – if you are on benefits, have a low income and have little or no savings.

Your solicitor will also be able to accompany you to court if the matter goes that far. The proceedings will be held in closed court, which ensures a degree of privacy.