The legal ombudsman - a free service that investigates complaints about lawyers in England and Wales – said that the ‘emotional rawness’ of couples involved in a divorce is being taken advantage of by lawyers looking to prolong legal action to maximise earnings.

Tension

Chief ombudsman Adam Sampson said that in the economic downturn there is increasingly a tension between lawyers' financial self-interest and their responsibility to offer clients informed advice.
According to a report by the Guardian newspaper, almost 20 per cent of the 7,500 complaints the legal ombudsman resolved last year involved divorce or family law-related cases, making it the most complained about area of law in England and Wales.
In one instance, a woman's bill exceeded the original estimated expenditure by £40,000 because the firm ‘had neither sought to challenge [her] approach nor inform her of the mounting costs’.
In the report, The Price of Separation, the legal ombudsman said: ‘One of the reasons why costs can spiral out of control lies in the emotional rawness of many of those going through divorce proceedings ... It is common for [people] to rely heavily on the one individual who is both an expert in how to negotiate the process and who is seen to be on their side: their lawyer.’

Cost information

The average cost of divorce is estimated to be £1,300, but the report cites many cases where clients had been charged thousands more than they were originally quoted.
Mr Sampson added: ‘Some customers also create their own problems by letting emotions take over in the divorce process. However, clearly lawyers could be doing more to reduce complaints by providing accurate cost information, providing decent service levels and by taking complaints seriously. I think this report challenges lawyers to raise their game and make the divorce process less painful for consumers.’