A NEW team of family law experts has been set up in North Yorkshire.

Birdsall & Snowball has created the family law department at its Scarborough office.

Alison Lewis who heads up the team said the past 12 months had been challenging and placed strains on family relationships.

“Sadly, as we emerge from lockdown, there will be many families in this area who are struggling with emotional and marital issues,” said Alison who has worked in family law for 15 years and is a member of Resolution, the association of family justice solicitors.

Alison deals with all aspects of family law, including divorce, civil partnership dissolution, co-habitation, separation agreements, financial issues on separation and injunctions.

She also deals with disputes regarding arrangements for children and acts for grandparents as well as parents in private children law proceedings.

As a member of Resolution, Alison is committed to dealing with family cases in a non-confrontational and constructive way.

She said it was ‘a tremendous opportunity’.

“I completely understand that trying to resolve family issues can be very emotive and worrying, but my over-riding aim is to provide friendly and affordable expert advice and assistance to all my clients at what is often a very difficult time.

“I always seek to negotiate successful outcomes for my clients without the need for court proceedings, resulting in quicker, more amicable and cost-effective solutions. However, if court proceedings are necessary I will ensure my clients are robustly assisted and represented throughout their case,” Alison said.

Evette Abbey, partner at Birdsall & Snowball, said: “We are delighted to welcome Alison to our team. She has a wealth of experience in family law and we are very pleased to be able to add a family law service to those legal services we already provide at our Scarborough office.”