Remember that your lawyer is undertaking a professional service for you and try to keep your enquiries to the practical aspects of your case.   It is very likely that you also need emotional support and reassurance if you are experiencing a separation and not seeing your children, but try to avoid using your lawyer for this more than is absolutely necessary.   Your legal bill will increase substantially if you ask too many questions.   If you are receiving legal aid remember that legal aid rates are not generous, and lawyers who are being paid through legal aid may be restricting what they do to the most important aspects of the case.

Bearing in mind the above advice, do take action if your lawyer is not answering key legal questions – see Complaints against lawyers LINK

Both the Law Society and Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) web sites include lists of lawyers who specialise in child contact cases, although the SLAB list only covers law firms which do legally aided work.  The Family Law Association web site can be searched to find their members by location or speciality.  Shared Parenting Scotland does not give any recommendations, but we can provide a list of the lawyers who attend our local group meetings.

If you feel your lawyer isn’t representing you properly or have another complaint you need to discuss this issue with the lawyer and then with the “client relations manager” in that law firm.  If this doesn’t settle your complaint, you should contact the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC). See their web site and also their booklet on family law complaints . The SLCC may pass some or all of the complaint on to the Law Society of Scotland to deal with “conduct” issues.