Getting to know you

10th July 2020

Image: Advocate Nicholas Le Quesne at 1a West's Centre

“Strange as it may appear, my client was sure he wanted a divorce but was struggling to find technical grounds to divorce his wife. He couldn’t think of anything his wife had done that would amount to ‘unreasonable behaviour’. His best example was that she put teabags in the sink, which, in his view clearly no reasonable woman would do. Determined however, he still told his wife that he wanted a divorce. By stabbing him in the hand in response, she gave him the grounds he needed for the petition.” Both husband and wife in this case would have benefited from bringing in no fault divorce in Jersey.

We never know what each day will bring in this job. We might have a call to say that a family client has been arrested, or a couple who were at each other’s throats have reconciled. We may be helping someone adopt a child in the morning and be dealing with an ‘implacable hostility’ case in the afternoon.

“One client had realised he was still in love with his first wife. Unfortunately he needed to divorce his second wife to remarry his first.”

One day a client may think they have agreed everything with their spouse and the next they find their partner has been hiding assets, or hiding an affair. What a client thought one day had been a lovely gift from generous parents when they bought their first house, now looks like a loan that has to be re-paid from the sale of the family home. What was certain may have become uncertain. Marital history may have been re-written.

Every time we meet a new client we are starting a new journey of discovery together. Every person is as individual as their story.

We are involved with our clients’ lives in a unique way. They often share stories with us that they have not shared with anyone else. Sometimes, just talking things through with an independent party can help people see things differently. Sometimes it becomes very clear that it is time in everyone’s interests to leave the marriage. As a result we often develop very strong relationships with our clients. We are working with clients as their lives change forever and it is a privilege to be trusted with this huge responsibility. This is also one of the reasons we advocate no fault divorce in Jersey. We want to minimise the distress caused by divorce and starting by having to place blame is not constructive.

We are at our best as lawyers when we can remain impartial and give advice which takes into account of all the circumstances of the case. But it is also important to care about our clients and care about what we do. Which we do. Whatever the situation, a child case or the tenth draft of a pre-nuptial agreement, we are invested in the outcome and we are proud to be trusted to get the best result. While we are experts in our field, we are also people who have chosen family law because we want to help people get through these difficult times in the best way possible.

If you need any advice, contact Corbett Le Quesne for a free 30 minute information session either visit our website www.corbettlequesne.com or e-mail enquiries@corbettlequesne.com