Citywealth Corporate Leaders List: Corbett Le Quesne

Date: 07 Apr 2020

Citywealth

Corbett Le Quesne is a specialist family law firm in Jersey in the Channel Islands. They advise on all aspects of family law through happy and sad times. They can provide cohabitation or pre-nuptual agreements and also advise in relation to children surrogacy, adoption and relocation or take care of you if your relationship comes to an end. They offer peace of mind to you and your family.

Here Corbett Le Quesne tell Citywealth about their organisational sustainability for our Corporate Leaders List user ratings pages to advise entrepreneurs, UHNW clients and charities about the wealth management and private client industry and the organisations within it.

Organisational sustainability

We are a boutique family law firm and as such are a small, close-knit team. Our health and safety strategies have always included well-being for our colleagues across the board. We encourage everyone in our team to take part in sports and activities, we are a caring team both with our clients and each other. The mental health of our clients is taken seriously, so many are under stress when they use our services and we are mindful of the extra care they need. We also understand that working with people who are in crisis or upset can affect us too. We look after each other and recognise when someone might need to go for a walk to clear their head, to have a cup of tea and a piece of cake or a hug. As a family law firm, we recognise the importance of a good work-life balance. We offer part-time and remote working and accommodate people whenever we can. As our work is so focussed on people, we recognise the need for support from other organisations and charities. We combine our family law skills with assisting local charities directly, through fundraising at our conferences and by providing family law information on a pro bono basis. This is at the heart of what we do. Our policy is to provide full and detailed costs estimates for our clients and to invoice them each month to avoid the unexpected. And we pay our own bills on time, supporting local suppliers where we can. We are a small firm with a cosy happy little office in St Helier but with international connections across the globe.

Education and innovation

We encourage all our staff to improve their skills and qualifications. We support our people with study leave and encourage the exchange of ideas. We can all learn from one another. We also arrange very successful family law conferences in Jersey. These are attended by family lawyers internationally, bringing together family lawyers and judges to discuss and learn about family law. We push the boundaries and encourage new ideas, having great fun and appreciating and enjoying the beauty of Jersey at the same time. We also provide events for other professionals, giving them a taste of the family law issues they should not forget when working as trustees, wealth managers and financial advisors.

Professional conduct

Any complaint would be dealt with by us listening to find out what the problem was, then exploring solutions. Both our partners are English solicitors and Jersey advocates so we are regulated by the SRA and the Law Society of Jersey. We follow all necessary regulations and legislation and maintain the highest standards. We promote good family law practice, collaborative law, mediation and arbitration as well as traditional court based methods. We encourage good communication and avoid conflict wherever we can. We abide by the Resolution code of conduct and the regulations of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, where our Senior Partner is a fellow. Our lawyers have many links with family lawyers all over the world through the IAFL and our own international family law conferences and dinners.

Fees or value for money

Our charge-out rates across the firm reflect the different levels of experience of each lawyer, so costs can be kept down by matching tasks to skills and ensuring that lower level tasks are completed at a lower rate. As a small firm our fees are very competitive with the larger firms. We are good value for money.

Technical expertise

With very many years experience of family law the partners at the firm are able to give specialist advice. We do not practise other areas of law, we concentrate on what we do and we do it very well. We keep up to date with changes in the law in Jersey, the UK and internationally on a daily basis, refining our skills all the time. But legal skills are only a part of our job. The soft skills, the listening, the understanding, the gentle encouragement and the practical suggestions are the important skills. By having a friendly, cosy and welcoming office we hope to put people at their ease. If a client is relaxed and feels they are being heard, they will be better able to explain their situation and be receptive to advice about the law and to considering their next steps.

Communication

We have created a welcoming and friendly office environment so people can feel comfortable coming to us for advice. We listen. We find out what the difficulties are and explore what is most important. We give full legal advice but we concentrate first on the areas which are causing the most worry. Only when people feel listened to and can trust us will they really take in the advice they are being given. We listen first. Asking questions later. We explain the processes that are needed in simple terms and make practical suggestions. We provide our advice in writing so it can be referred to later, when people have had time to reflect. We provide specific information sheets to our clients and our web-site is a significant source of knowledge. We also refer people to other organisations for help and support when needed. We sponsor and organise the annual Jersey International Family Law conference and dinner each year and other conferences and seminars for lawyers and other professionals throughout the year.

Responsiveness

We are very responsive. Calls and emails are answered as soon as possible. If an answer is not immediately available we will say when it is likely to be. We can be contacted by email or phone at any time. Contact details including email addresses and phone numbers are available on our web-site.

Industry standards

We are governed or members of: The LawSociety, The Law Society of Jersey, Resolution, CIArb, Jersey Family Law Association, International Academy of Family Law, Association of Lawyers for Children, Institute of Family Arbitrators, Law Society of Jersey Children Panel, Law Society of Jersey Mental Health Review Tribunal Panel, Collaborative lawyers.

Technology

We are a small firm. We have policies in place in respect of all employment, health and safety, GDPR, business protection, disaster management other matters. We share legal knowledge daily through internet sources. We have an integrated cloud based document management system which incorporates time recording and accounting. We are almost a paperless office. Files are kept securely with nothing on the office hardware and we have a clean desk policy, anything at all confidential or client related is either scanned and shredded or (original documents) kept in secure locked cabinets.

Key Individuals

Advocate Barbara Corbett. Has worked as a family lawyer since 1996. A very diverse range of clients, many with assets of over £5million. She is involved in a number of international family law cases, especially those involving children. Advocate Nicholas Le Quesne. Worked as a lawyer in Jersey since 2007 and as a family lawyer since 2009. Nick has a wide practice and client base. He too has clients worth over £5million. Nick has been involved in international cases and has international family law contacts throughout the world.

Corporate Leaders List

https://www.leaderslist.co.uk/leaderslist/corbett-le-quesne

Individual Leaders List pages

https://www.leaderslist.co.uk/leaderslist/barbara-corbett

https://www.leaderslist.co.uk/leaderslist/nicholas-le-quesne

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