WELCOME TO CLIVE SUTTON BARRISTER DIRECT

Divorcing? - Can't see your children? - Frightened by the size of the legal costs you are being quoted?

Whether it be financial complications upon the breakdown of your marriage or problems over where the children live and when contact happens, I am here to help you. Emotions run high with these types of cases and you need specialised advice and representation. Having over 34 years of experience in family law, I can offer you a highly personalised service that you do not find with most barristers. In particular:

• You may telephone me for a free consultation about your case. I do not operate a 30 minutes policy and your time is then up.
• If you retain me, then you can email and speak to me directly at your convenience, seven days a week, twelve hours a day, at no extra charge.
• Fees that are considerably cheaper now that I have moved from a Chambers based practice with all the expenses attached thereto.
• Fixed fees, not hourly rates, so you know exactly where you are. You will usually save substantial amounts of money by instructing me directly.
• Flexible fees that are based upon your financial circumstances.

Bar Standards Board Register

CURRICULUM VITAE – CLIVE SUTTON

6/9/1964	Born, Kent
1983–1986	LLB (Hons) Law Degree
1986 – 1987	Inns of Court School of Law, London
1987	Called to the Bar: Inner Temple
1987 – 1988	Pupillage in London sets of chambers in Grays Inn and the Temple
1988 – 2012	Practised Family Law in Chambers within the East Midlands and East Anglia
2012	Left Chambers and established CliveSuttonBarristerDirect.co.uk

WORK UNDERTAKEN

• All aspects of family law.
• Financial relief upon divorce.
• Representation throughout the whole Court process from first appointments, FDR’s and final hearings.
• Children. From where the children live to when the non-resident parent sees them spend time with orders.
• Fact finding hearings.
• Also, issues about schooling and whether the children should live permanently abroad.

FEES

Each fee will be on a case by case basis depending on the issues, the complexities involved, volume of paperwork and the length of hearing.

• Highly competitive
• Fixed fees in all cases

The fee charged will depend upon the actual hearing involved as some hearings require substantially more work than others.

An indication of fees that will be incurred in a case typical in nature, is set out below.

What Case Involves	Fee
Conference and advice pre-issue of proceedings. (No fee for a conference in ongoing proceedings for which I have been booked)	£350-£500
For a first hearing, whether a financial dispute or child hearing – usually 6-12 weeks after issue	£800-£950
FDR in financial cases, about 3 months after the first hearing	£2,000 -£2,500
Final hearing (one day), financial or children, usually 3 months since the previous hearing	£2,750 to £3,500

Cases can be elongated because of the need for more hearings, i.e., additional directions hearings, lack of judges, so hearings are adjourned and delay in listing your case. All this may mean your case takes over 12 months from issue.

There will be no added costs such as emails or telephone advices. These are included in the fixed fee.

Payment is made before each hearing takes place, usually about a month before.

Please telephone for a discussion of your case and your budget, so an affordable fee can be negotiated.

As soon as I have discussed the case with you, I will then email you with a detailed breakdown of the fees I will charge.

PUBLIC ACCESS

For centuries the public had to go through a solicitor to instruct a barrister. This has recently changed for family law work and now the general public can instruct a barrister themselves. This is a very significant change, brought about so the public can benefit in a number of ways. For example:

• Saving of costs
• Ability to choose a barrister yourself
• Capacity to liaise directly with your chosen barrister.

Clive is eligible and happy to take his instructions direct from the general public. Initially a prospective client should contact him by telephone for a discussion about their case and whether he can help them. There is no charge for this. If he can help you he will, whatever stage you are at in your case.

Please use this link for more information on direct access work- Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients

COMPLAINTS

If you are unhappy with my work then you can complain in the first instance to me and I will provide a written response within 6 weeks.

If you remain unhappy then you can write to the Legal Ombudsman after 8 weeks of my response. Their telephone number is 03005550333.

You must complain to the Legal Ombudsman either

• within six years of your barrister's actions/failure to act, or
• no later than three years after you should reasonably have known there were grounds to complain.

You must also complain to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving your barrister's final response to your complaint.

Useful links:

[email protected]

https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/information-centre/data-centre/ombudsman-decision-data/

CONTACT

Phone Clive directly on: 07973 386702 - between 9.00am and 9.00pm 7 days a week. If there is no answer please leave a message and it will be responded to within a few hours.

Email: [email protected]

TESTIMONIAL 1

I have instructed Clive as a barrister to represent my clients for some 25 years. I have found him to be:-

Approachable before, during and after the case, dealing with queries that have arisen or matters that need to be attended to prior to Hearing or after.
Thorough with his preparation of the case and his forward thinking to instruct me to deal with further issues prior to Hearing that may assist the case.
Enthusiastic and determined to do the very best for the client and to achieve the best possible outcome.
Professional in his dealings with me, the client and at Court.
Clear and concise with his advice and providing an explanation as to his reasoning.
Sound and sensible judgment in his advice to clients to achieve the best possible outcome for them.
Reliable, always at Court early ready for Hearing and accommodating to meet client’s for conference to suit their needs.
Excellent advocacy skills.
His fees are very reasonable. He represents good value for money.

Ruth Taylor

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TESTIMONIAL 2

Clive has represented a number of my clients at Court and all have been pleased with his services. He quickly grasps the issues and provides clear advice which reflects his depth of knowledge and years of experience in dealing with family cases.

Julie McDonald – Family Solicitor

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TESTIMONIAL 3

I have known Mr Sutton professionally for at least fifteen years during which time I have confidently sought his advice and representation for clients. In addition I instructed him to act for me in my own contested Children Act matter and am very satisfied with the advice and support I received. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mr Sutton and being guided by his advice.

Annie Farrington

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TESTIMONIAL 4

From the moment I met Clive he instilled me with confidence. He was straight talking, offered some new perspectives on an ongoing access case and having him on board made a real difference. Without him I am not sure I would have got the outcome that we did but with his support me and my children can now share real quality time together. Clive's professionalism and honest approach really impressed me and I would not hesitate in recommending him to anyone in need of representation.

Jim Close

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TESTIMONIAL 5

Clive is very professional in his approach and new exactly how he was going to deal with my case.
Clive explained very well how the case would work and what he expected the outcome to be, and he also explained what could go wrong, so he was honest and realistic.
Clive negotiated the case covering all angles so all the 't's were crossed and all the 'i's were dotted so to say.
Clive managed to negotiate an agreement which was better than I expected and I was very happy with the outcome.
Thank you Clive.

Kevin

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TESTIMONIAL 6

Last week was listed for a 3 day Final Hearing re. AR, & I am happy to advise that due to the highly professional services of our barrister Mr Clive Sutton we managed to agree a strongly challenged Consent Order, which received official approval by the District Judge less than 24 hours before the Final Hearing was due to start.

Mr. Sutton acted for us as a Direct Access Barrister at both a testing Directions Hearing, & an extremely fraught FDR Hearing, which proved to be the nucleus for the subsequent Consent Order, but he also acts for solicitors & you may find the following information useful for your practice. He has a rare ability to combine a highly professional analytical approach with empathy not only for the client, but also for the Judge which is so vitally important in reading the signs for a successful outcome. Having seen him in action at two complicated & difficult Court Hearings as above, both Dale & myself wholeheartedly recommend his services in the hope that this information may be of interest to you.

Neill

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TESTIMONIAL 7

Clive represented me at a 2 day FDR in relation to an exceptionally complicated and detailed case, for which a favourable outcome was achieved. From the initial consultation it was apparent that Clive has a natural aptitude to absorb vast amounts of information focusing on the key elements. I felt reassured by Clive’s professionalism, analytical skills and drive for results along with his realistic and refreshing approach. His explanations about every aspect of the hearing were clear and concise and his advice sensible. Clive was extremely thorough in his preparation and this was evident in the FDR through his questioning and articulate manner. He has excellent communication skills and this proved to be invaluable throughout the 2 days. His direct and knowledgeable approach instilled a confidence in me and I would not hesitate in recommending Clive to anyone who needs legal representation. I cannot thank Clive enough and the outcome far exceeded my expectation.

PS You need to wear walking boots or trainers to keep up with Clive’s pacing!

Lisa

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TESTIMONIAL 8

Clive I wanted to come back to you regarding your representing me in the recent residency hearing for my daughter. I appreciate the case had its difficulties in terms of historical issues which could have impacted on the outcome, but the clarity with which you advised we approached the case ensured that those issues were not allowed to blur current circumstances, and that focus remained on the best interests of my daughter. Your honesty and straight forward approach was realistic rather than inappropriately optimistic, and prepared me well for the hearing which fortunately went in my favour, with my daughter left in my care, which I have no doubt I have you to thank for.

Additionally, I appreciated your availability for advice throughout and timely responses to any emails, calls etc. with solid reasoning for me to consider, and clear advice given, yet with decisions left for me to make.

I hope this was something I never have to experience again, however should it prove necessary I hope you would accept the case again, as I know I could not be better represented.

Darren

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TESTIMONIAL 9

Dear Clive,

I cannot thank you enough for your professionalism and support on Friday. You are without doubt worth your weight in gold. From our initial first contact on the telephone to the final conclusion in court you were awe-inspiring. Professionally you guide me through the most stressful event of my life seamlessly. You attentively looked after me in a manner that I will always remain humbled by. I would whole heartily recommend you without any hesitation at all. It is with huge pride that I would proactively recommend you to both family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. I would be proud to tell anyone that you represented me in court you were simply inspirational and deadly. Intuitively you reacted so swiftly in court, and fought tirelessly for me and my children. I simply could have not asked anymore from you, in fact you delivered way beyond my expectations. Once again thank you so much for everything.

Kinds regards,
Lisa West

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CONTACT

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