Affordable Justice is one of the UK’s fastest growing non-profit alternative business structure legal services. We have recently appointed Samantha Harrison to our growing team of family law solicitors, providing affordable legal services to women throughout the UK. Samantha will provide services both as a divorce and domestic abuse lawyer, and has particular expertise in domestic abuse matters, divorce and child arrangements.
Founded and run by women, Affordable Justice is a legal firm with charitable status that specialises in operating within a feminist framework, improving outcomes for women who are escaping from abusive and controlling relationships. Based in Hull at the Preston Road Women’s Centre, the company works throughout the UK.
Samantha commented: “I am thrilled to have joined the team, and I am really looking forward to my role at Affordable Justice.”
Affordable Justice founder and director, Lisa Hilder:
“Samantha’s skills and expertise are a welcome addition as we continue to help more and more women and their children across England and Wales get the legal outcomes they deserve. For too long, the family law courts have been weaponised against women, leaving many traumatised beyond the boundaries of the original abusive relationship. Working within that feminist framework, we will ensure that women have fair access to legal support that works for them financially, emotionally, and logistically. With a 97% success rate, it is important that we continue to make our services more accessible to a wider audience.”
Pictured: The Affordable Justice legal team: Seated (L-R) Samantha Harrison, solicitor; Becky Brown, solicitor. Standing (L-R) Amy Bradley, paralegal: Chris Gibson, administrator; Sue Sedgwick, solicitor and founder.
What is an Alternative Business Structure?
An alternative business structure is a non traditional form of structuring a legal business with charitable endeavours. The original premise of Affordable Justice was to strip out the profit element that is usually loaded onto commercial solicitor fees. As a non solicitor, Lisa brought extensive social entrepreneurial and funding expertise, and within the alternative business structure she was able to be elected a director of the business.
Between them, Lisa Hilder and solicitor, Sue Sedgwick, were able to establish a radical approach to the way in which they practised as family law solicitors, incorporating feminism in law.
Feminism in Law – What Does This Mean for Victims of Domestic Abuse?
Practising feminism in law means that the company has created working protocols that have a golden thread of feminism running through everything the company does.
What this means in practice is that the client-solicitor relationship is not based on a legal transaction, but one of compassion and shared understanding. It is instilling a trauma informed approach that ensures the woman is both listened to and believed, and that her wishes are central to all legal processes and decisions.
For the woman seeking a way out of an abusive situation, what this means is:
- The woman is respected, believed and supported. A study by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner found that just 12 per cent of women positively rated the support they received during the court process. At Affordable Justice, that percentage is closer to 90 per cent.
- The woman’s choices are the principal focus for all legal processes, even if it proves not to be the most lucrative. While financial settlements are an important part of the process, understanding what the woman needs and wants for her own safety and peace of mind is significantly more important. Proceedings are led by the woman, allowing her to feel more in control and empowered, Affordable Justice legally guides the woman through this process.
- Reframing the evidence demonstrated by women. Often women have a distinct lack of control over their own lives, preventing them from gathering the evidence they need. Reframing evidence within a more contextual point of view can be the difference between a woman being believed, and not being believed.
- A trauma-informed approach is paramount. Many women are so traumatised that they are incapable of seeing a way out of their situation. Every call, every conversation, needs to reflect this in an empathic and empowering way.
Divorce Lawyers Near Me
Remote working processes that were implemented as a result of covid, have laid the foundations of a business that is fully scalable across the whole of England and Wales. This means that whether a woman is in London, Leeds, Liverpool or Llanelli, women can access the same level of trauma informed legal support that will gently guide them through this harrowing experience.