Sarah-Jane Riddell-Solicitor, Collaborative lawyer, mediator

Sarah is a family lawyer and mediator with Family Law Partners based at their head office in Brighton.  Her experience has made her very aware that significant family changes including separation can be one of life’s most traumatic experiences for families.  

Sarah works alongside clients in a way that is tailored to their needs, providing the best support possible to enable resolution of any issues with relative calm and ease during what can often feel an overwhelming situation.

Sarah works as a solicitor, collaborative family lawyer and accredited family mediator with individuals and families who seek support in a variety of situations including divorce and separation or who wish to make agreements for living together or pre/post nuptial agreements.  

There is a wide choice of family law processes available to clients.  

They all share the same goal; to enable clients to complete their arrangements in a fair way to give them peace of mind for the future.  Sarah hopes to enable clients to resolve matters non-adversarially as best suited to each individual client including: 

·  Mediation including hybrid mediation (where lawyers or mutually trusted third parties can be actively involved in the process if this would be more supportive for clients)

·  Collaborative process – where each client has their own collaborative lawyer for legal advice and support, with minimal correspondence and through a series of meetings together to make reach agreements to give peace of mind for future arrangements.

·  The ‘one lawyer’ model which can be used where couples are broadly aligned in their goals and would like to work together with one lawyer.

In all of these legal processes, it is often helpful and cost-effective to work in an interdisciplinary way to provide clients with all-round support and expertise (e.g. financial and/or therapeutic, emotional & well-being).

Sarah has recently been appointed co-chair of Resolution’s Collaborative Practice Working Party and will soon train as a child inclusive mediator.  She is a member of Resolution, the Law Society and accredited by the Family Mediation Council.

Meetings with Sarah can be arranged face to face in Brighton, Horsham or London or remotely via videolink.