What do we offer?
- Provide a free 30-minute, one-off family law appointment with a fully qualified solicitor
- Remove the onus from the client to have to source free legal advice during some of the hardest times of their lives
- A clinic team who individually reviews each referral to assess the client’s needs
- Provide signposting/help to refer clients to other services who can assist with the non-legal aspects of safely leaving abuse & rebuilding their lives
What does our legal advice clinic cover?
Family Law advice typically includes:
- Separation & Divorce
- The separation of assets such as finances & family homes
- Private child proceedings including Child Arrangement Orders & specific issue orders
- Public child proceedings where social services are involved or due to be involved
- Protection orders including non-molestation & occupation orders
- Information on Legal Aid
- Current orders that are already in place
- General advice about family court proceedings & processes
How do I prepare for the appointment?
We appreciate that you may feel anxious or nervous to talk to a legal advisor, particularly if this is the first time you have done so.
Our team is committed to making you feel comfortable and will pay attention to what you have to tell us.
Please read the steps below on how you can make an appointment with Flag DV and what to expect.
Step 1 Who qualifies?
Any person over the age of 18 who is currently or has experienced domestic abuse or violence regardless of financial status, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or race.
We offer our service to clients living in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire.
Step 2 How it works?
Flag DV receive a referral form requesting your need to access family law advice. This referral form can be made by you or a third party professional. Please see Step 3, Making a referral, which tells you how to do this. We offer an appointment in response to this referral being received.
Your appointment will be with a volunteer legal advisor who will be a qualified solicitor, legal executive or barrister. They will have knowledge and experience of family law including domestic violence or abuse. The volunteer will give you advice about your situation. We advise that you have to hand or bring to the appointment any paper copies of documentation that may be relevant to your discussion. These could be from social services, GP, courts, police, housing and may be helpful to the outcome of the appointment. We encourage you to take notes and we may give you information or signpost to other organisations who can also assist you further. After your clinic appointment you will have been clearly advised of next steps.
If you need to access further solicitor support this will not be provided by Flag DV but independently sourced by yourself. We offer one clinic appointment per client. Please be aware that we are only advising you and no other party. Flag DV are unable to provide representation for you under any circumstances.
Step 3 Making a referral
Complete our online form for support; just click the button ‘Referral Form’ at the top of this page and please complete as much of the form as you can to help us best understand your needs.
Or you can make a telephone enquiry by calling 01635 015854 Monday to Friday between 11:00am and 1:00pm.
*Important safeguarding information. Safeguarding of clients is of paramount importance to us throughout this process.
We will contact you to make an appointment by email or telephone, whatever method you have identified as the preferred and least compromises your safety.
Please tell us if neither are safe and we can contact an identified third party to arrange the appointment.
Helplines
Telephone Referrals
01635 015854
In Immediate Danger
Call 999
National Domestic Abuse Helpline
0808 2000 247