Reflective Account On Communication

• Excellent communication skills including presenting and handling difficult and challenging conversations.
I am a qualified solicitor and in this role I have developed my communication skills. On one occasion I was representing a mother who was a victim of domestic violence. The father wanted to see his children but the mother was not allowing it due to the domestic violence. I acknowledged her concerns regarding the contact and explained that I understood why she would not want contact to take place. I also explained to the mother the courts view in terms of contact and domestic violence cases. I highlighted the fact that if she allowed contact without going to hearing she would still retain a level of control. I suggested that contact take place at a neutral location and be supervised by a friend or family member until she was comfortable with this arrangement. The client was reluctant but highlighted that the court would want some form of contact and she would have to adhere to this. However, by reaching an agreement outside of court she is not bound by it and will be in control. The client agreed to

I also examined all relevant documents to extract key information such as dates, applications submitted and how decisions were reached; the client had a large bundle with correspondence dating from 2009 to 2015. I used my strong organisational skills to construct a detailed chronology to aid my analysis. I initially researched the matter on the Citizens Advice internal advice guide; however the information on the guide was not sufficient. I then researched statutes, case law and journals to draw a conclusion. Also, I analysed the submissions and case law the client’s previous solicitor had prepared. I identified from my research, that the client may be able to make an application for judicial