AL&H Solicitors open Chichester office

Anderson Longmore and Higham (AL&H), a well established West Sussex firm of solicitors with existing offices in Petworth, Storrington and Billingshurst, has opened a new office in Chichester. The new office, based in the heart of Chichester at 38 Southgate, next to the courts and adjacent to the city’s railway and bus stations, opened on 1 November 2010.

The firm’s Chichester office marks an exciting new chapter in the long history of the firm, which has a history of nearly 200 years. The firm’s Petworth office has been located in its current site on the town’s market square for well over a century. Offices in Storrington and Billingshurst followed later.

The Chichester office offers the same range of legal services as the existing offices, including residential and commercial property, wills, probate and trusts and divorce and family law. Will Stisted, a Partner at the firm since 2005, heads the property department at the office, whilst Edward Cooke, who recently joined AL&H as a Partner and Head of the firm’s Family Law Department, is responsible for managing the firm’s family law department, both in Chichester and the existing offices.

Will and Edward both live with their families in Chichester and indeed Edward grew up in the city. Will practised as a Partner at a firm in London where he specialised in property and private client work, before moving to West Sussex to join AL&H in 2003.

Having started his training in London, Edward spent ten years at another firm in Midhurst and Petersfield practising exclusively in family law, before joining AL&H in September 2010. Edward is an Accredited Specialist with Resolution, the nationwide organisation of family lawyers committed to resolving issues arising upon separation or divorce in a conciliatory and constructive manner.

Whilst AL&H’s Chichester office is located adjacent to the courts, Edward said he is particularly keen to develop non-court based methods of resolving family disputes, such as mediation and collaborative law. Edward already practices as a collaborative family lawyer. Collaborative Law is a process whereby couples commit to resolving all issues arising upon separation or divorce without going to court, by attending a number of round table meetings with their solicitors.

Edward said that from January 2011, the firm plans to offer a mediation service, based at the Chichester office. “There has been a lot of interest in the subject of mediation in recent months, particularly in light of recent government announcements that the role of mediation in resolving family issues may be given greater prominence.”

“Mediation is a process whereby a couple attends a series of meetings with an independent third party, the mediator. The aim is that they can reach their own agreement, focussed on the needs of the family and any children, with the assistance of the mediator,” Edward said. “Whilst some situations will still require court involvement, in my view mediation and collaborative law now offers many couples a far more dignified route to resolving their issues, above all in a way that minimises the impact on any children. It is vital that couples can communicate with one another going forward and the adversarial nature of the traditional court process can all too often create lasting damage.”