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Family Law can be highly sensitive and you need advice you can trust.
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We aim to help you with all family law matters and make an effort to keep proceedings as smooth as possible for our clients.
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Resolution and mediation are key to our work and our team of dedicated lawyers are passionate about assisting you.
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The area of Family Law can be both highly sensitive and you need advice you can trust
Family Solicitors
Family Mediation Week 2026: A Better Path Forward for Separating Families (27 January 2026)
Date: 27/01/2026
This week, we're proud to join the national observance of Family Mediation Week by highlighting how our professional mediation services can help families navigate separation with dignity and clarity.
Mediation Week Content and Resources
Throughout the week, we'll be sharing helpful videos and resources across our social media channels to help you understand more about the mediation process and how it can benefit your family. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to stay updated with our latest content, and don't forget to like and share with anyone who might find this information useful.
Understanding Your Options During Family Breakdown
The end of a relationship brings profound uncertainty. Parents wonder how to create stable, nurturing arrangements for their children. Couples face difficult questions about dividing assets, managing shared property, and establishing fair financial settlements.
These conversations are rarely easy. Emotions run high, communication breaks down, and what should be practical discussions can quickly become sources of deep conflict and pain. Professional guidance during this period isn't just helpful—it can fundamentally change the trajectory of your family's future.
The Court Process: Not Always the Answer
Many people assume that going to court is the inevitable next step when agreement seems impossible. However, litigation often proves both costly and counterproductive, escalating tensions at a time when families need stability most.
The courts themselves recognise this reality. Before accepting most family law applications, judges now require evidence that parties have genuinely explored alternatives to the courtroom.
Why Mediation Works
No two families share identical circumstances, needs, or priorities. What works well for one family may be entirely unsuitable for another. The key is finding an approach that honours your family's unique situation from the very beginning—saving not just money, but precious emotional energy and time.
Professional mediators serve as neutral facilitators rather than decision-makers. They create structured conversations where both parties can be heard, help identify areas of disagreement, and guide couples toward solutions that reflect their own values and priorities rather than imposed outcomes.
Creating Space for Better Outcomes
The mediation process offers something court proceedings cannot: a confidential, balanced environment where both parties retain control over decisions affecting their family's future. Rather than having solutions dictated by a judge who knows little about your daily lives, you work collaboratively to develop agreements that genuinely fit your circumstances.
Research consistently demonstrates that agreements reached through active participation and mutual discussion prove far more durable than court orders. This is particularly true for parenting arrangements—when parents feel ownership over the plan, they're far more invested in making it succeed.
According to the Family Mediation Council, mediation successfully resolves more than 70% of cases, including many where participants initially doubted the process could work for them.
Expert Mediation at Duncan Lewis
Our firm provides comprehensive family mediation covering all aspects of separation: parenting arrangements, financial settlements, and property division.
Sophie Burchett leads our mediation services, bringing extensive credentials and experience to every case. As both a Resolution-trained family mediator qualified to handle all dispute types and an accomplished family law solicitor on the Law Society's Children Panel, Sophie offers rare depth of expertise.
Her practice encompasses complex public and private children matters as well as cases involving domestic abuse. Throughout her career, Sophie has maintained an unwavering commitment to resolving family disputes through collaboration rather than confrontation, always keeping children's wellbeing at the center of the process.
