Most new clients will be best served by an initial one-hour legal surgery in which we can talk through the issues of your case.
We help people to represent themselves in civil disputes, mainly in the county courts of England & Wales, by providing an affordable legal support service. And because our consultants are solicitors with over 40 years of combined litigation experience, who also litigate via our associate law firm (Southbank Legal) you can rest assured that the advice is up-to-date and of the highest quality.
As well as being experienced in most areas of general litigation, we have specific expertise in the areas of cohabitation property disputes and contested wills. (See tabs above)
HELPING YOU TO HELP YOURSELF
Preliminary Case Review & Document Drafting
2 to 15 hours | Hourly rate of £150
Need a hands-on wingman to review your case or draft case documents (particulars of claim, defence or an N244 application)? We’re at your service.
Full Legal Representation
Cost depends on the case and rates of the solicitor
Both Daria and Alex are consultant solicitors with our associate law firm, Southbank Legal. If you need more support, they will be able to represent you.
Is the only choice between a law firm and representing myself?
One Hour Legal Surgery
£150 (with a solicitor)
Most new clients will be best served by an initial one-hour legal surgery in which we can talk through the issues of your case. Key documents can be reviewed during the call. By phone, skype or zoom. Please email the story of your case in 2 short paragraphs and any urgent court deadlines + PDF of key documents.
How do I get the best out of my legal surgery?
Please scroll 2 minutes in for how to prepare your documents.
The reason that most cases lose is invariably down to preparation and paperwork. Are you prepared to put in the hard yards of printing off every single piece of paper (every court order, letter, email, and even text messages) and actually organise it all into chronological order in a PDF? If you are you will gain objectivity, clarify the issues and see the strengths and weaknesses of your case. If not, you should not be representing yourself! Hire a lawyer.
How do I decide whether to "get legal" at all?
Please scroll 2 minutes in for how to prepare your documents.
Decision Flow Charts
For making a quick decision as to whether your claim can be run without legal advice, or if you are wondering whether your case is commercially viable to run in the first place, subscribe below and we will send you 3 decision flow charts and some notes for personal injury cases. Please be aware that from 1 October 2023 new rules come into force for claims above £25,000 but below £100,000, with the creation of an intermediate track in this range.
Preliminary Case Review & Document Drafting
2 to 15 hours | Hourly rate of £150
Need a hands-on wingman to review your case or draft case documents (particulars of claim, defence or an N244 application)? We’re at your service. Go into battle fully-armed, with properly drafted documents or full advice on the merits and value of your claim or defence. We also have access to a pool of barristers in all areas, as in certain cases you will need specialist legal counsel.
What if I need a law firm, after all?
Full Legal Representation
Both Daria and Alex are consultant solicitors with our associate law firm, Southbank Legal. If you need more support, they will be able to represent you.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR LITIGANTS IN PERSON
Recent Client Review 2023: "I bought the book Flying Solo, priceless, just what I needed. Love all the examples and details it's as if Alex Woods had read the cc litigants mind. Big thanks to Alex." Janet
Are you representing yourself in the courts of England and Wales?
This step-by-step guide is for you if you are:
- Wondering about the strength of your case
- Worried about the next steps you should or need to take
- Unsure whether your particulars of claim or defence is up to scratch and compliant with the rules
- Confused by the legal jargon, court orders or procedures
- Tired of trying to understand all the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and figuring out which ones apply
- Losing time, having to spend hours on Google searching for templates, forms, terminology and articles
Written by solicitors with over 20 years of litigation experience and years of helping litigants in person like you.
“This book is really about giving people a real feel and understanding of what it is like to be in a civil litigation dogfight.”
Richard Parsons
Solicitor
The book will...
assist you in making commercially sound decisions that will help your case and your wallet, without the need for solicitors.
Free resources
To see a full library of all our free videos please click on the image below to go to our YouTube channel.
Our team
Daria Siatkowska
Advisor and Civil Litigation and Family Law Solicitor
Daria handles general litigation, family and co-habitation property dispute work and is an excellent go-to expert for any Polish clients, whether small business or private individuals, facing a UK dispute.
Alex Woods
Senior Advisor and Consultant Solicitor
Alex has over 20 years’ litigation experience, in the fields of crime, fraud, financial irregularity, personal injury and general litigation.
PLEASE READ! Please note that Courtwingman is not a law firm and we do not conduct litigation and we do not go on court record. You need to drive the case yourself and you are responsible for all court deadlines throughout our involvement. Try to give yourself as much time as possible before a hearing, when contacting us. Please note that the advice we give is based on what we are told and the documents supplied and is limited to what we are able to read/speak to you about during the legal surgery or thereafter, depending on the service you buy from us. It is also best to give us documentation that may not be good for your case (and which you may even consider to be damaging to your case) so we can properly assess the weaknesses, as well as the merits. Once a thorough review is undertaken, we will not tell you to pursue a lost cause as we pride ourselves on offering proper, commercial advice on how best to move your case forward within the limits of our involvement and your engagement with us.
What do our clients say?
I did find the YouTube videos and these are really good resources that gave me some food for thought and Alex really delivers them well!
I had a legal surgery with Alex prior to my Court date and he really put my mind at ease and gave me some tips making me think about somethings I hadn’t.
I attended Court with more confidence than I believe I would have had if I had not taken the legal surgery and for this I thank him and would recommend to others any day!
I attended Court with more confidence than I believe I would have had if I had not taken the legal surgery and for this I thank him and would recommend to others any day!
Jak Langley
Litigant in Person
Getting legal advice has been an excellent experience. They were very responsive and helpful with my case. Alex Woods and the whole team have been above and beyond with my inquiries and legal concerns for my small claims court case. Thank you.
Maximos Zachariadis
Litigant in Person
We won all eight points of the settlement with a chunk of costs to boot. Simply because we had made it our business to know the details where as the barristers had skim read the case. Now to anyone still reading here's the sombre facts. Case start to finish took 3.5 years to resolve. Cost £35,000 Recovered £5,000. Think carefully before going all in on a case. We were careful with costs which could have been double. Thank you Alex.
Paul
Co-litigant in Person
Free resources
Services
1-hour Legal Surgery (all cases)
1 hour | £150
Most new clients will be best served by an initial one-hour legal surgery in which we can talk through the issues of your case. Key documents can be reviewed during the call. By phone, skype or zoom. Please email the story of your case in 2 short paragraphs and any urgent court deadlines + PDF of key documents.
Preliminary Case Review & Document Drafting
2 to 15 hours | Hourly rate of £150
Need a hands-on wingman to review your case or draft case documents (particulars of claim, defence or an N244 application)? We’re at your service.
Full Legal Representation
Cost depends on the case and rates of the solicitor
Both Daria and Alex are consultant solicitors with our partner law firm. If you need more support, they will be able to represent you throughout the whole court proceedings.
LAWYERS WE WORK WITH:
It is never easy finding good lawyers at respectable prices, so here are a few that we use for areas outside our expertise:
Southbank Legal (Michael Czechyra, commercial solicitor) www.southbanklegal.com
Clarendon Law (Richard Parsons – property and family solicitor) www.clsolicitors.co.uk
French & Co (drafting wills, conveyancing, family) www.frenchandco.co.uk
Kleyman Solicitors (Meg Pennycook – employment specialist and part-time judge) www.kleymansolicitors.com
Outer Temple Chambers (Peter Linstead, barrister – employment tribunals, commercial work, direct access) www.outertemple.com