Waldrons promote Dudley borough's first collaborative family lawyer to Associate

Naomi Withey
Email: n.withey@waldrons.co.uk

Family law specialist Naomi Withey has been promoted to associate at leading Black Country solicitors Waldrons, strengthening the firm's senior level team.

Naomi is a qualified collaborative family lawyer- of which there are just 1250 in England, Ireland and Wales. She becomes one of five associates at the 70-strong firm which has offices in Merry Hill, Kingswinford and Dudley.

Naomi, who trained as a collaborative family lawyer with Resolution (formerly known as the Solicitors Family Law Association), was Dudley borough's first specialist in collaborative family law, which offers divorcing or separating couples an alternative way to resolve their disputes respectfully together without the need to go to court.

Collaborative family law is seen as a particularly important development in family law as it allows separating partners to negotiate mutually agreed settlements in a more direct and efficient manner than the traditional court route.

Furthermore, because collaborative family law is designed to minimise the hurt, anger and loss of self-esteem associated with divorce and separation, it can provide a valuable tool to help parties move on with their lives.

Having qualified as a solicitor in 1995, Naomi has specialised exclusively in family law since 1999, and, as a member of the Family Law Panel, her skills are recognised as among the highest in the country,

It was ten years ago that Naomi realised her heart lay in family law, having built up a solid background covering all areas of law during her extensive experience.

She said: "I believe that taking a collaborative family law approach is less traumatic for the families involved, and takes some of the legal sting out of the situation.

"Getting divorced or separating is hard enough- this method allows the individuals involved to take control of the separation process with the full support and guidance of their collaborative family lawyers.

She added: "For clients, it's a far less hostile and more solution led approach. The benefit is that clients control the process with the full legal back up of their collaborative family lawyers who apply their negotiation and conciliation skills to create an agreement that everyone is happy with."

Waldrons' partner and head of family law Jo Ellis said: "Our family law department has gone from strength to strength in recent years and as a result Waldrons has become renowned locally as the very first port of call for family law issues. Naomi's appointment is in recognition of her contribution to the department's reputation for delivering a first-class service to clients."

For further info contact Naomi Withey n.withey@waldrons.co.uk