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Teresa Payne
I’m Teresa Payne, owner at Parfitt Cresswell. Growing up, I never dreamt of being a lawyer... Until I found myself facing divorce in my late twenties. I had a seven-year-old son an...ver másI’m Teresa Payne, owner at Parfitt Cresswell. Growing up, I never dreamt of being a lawyer... Until I found myself facing divorce in my late twenties. I had a seven-year-old son and the last thing I thought I’d experience was my relationship ending and having to start again. To be honest, I didn’t know where to turn. The road ahead felt like an enormous mountain and I didn’t have the emotional or physical strength to even take the first step of the climb.
Fortunately, I had a good friend who supported me through this. With her encouragement, I went along to my local solicitors feeling confident they’d be able to help me.
They were qualified professionals and advertised “family law” so I thought I was in good hands. I think most would agree that was a reasonable assumption—but after experiencing their non-existent client care and paying substantial legal fees for a very poor service and very little practical advice, I decided I could do far better than this myself.
I started researching “how to divorce”, “what happens to the family home when couples separate”, and “where will the children live after divorce”—all those questions that wake you up in the night when it feels like your world is falling apart.
My research was daunting and time-consuming but it sparked an interest to learn more about our legal system. This interest, and my desire to help others going through separation and divorce, changed my direction in life. I decided to use the funds I received from my divorce to qualify as a solicitor—and spent the next seven years studying until I qualified in 2004.
At the start of my professional life I worked face-to-face, individually, with many clients helping them through some of the most difficult times in their lives. It was so rewarding to help others navigate the legal and emotional maze and help them find their new life so that they could start again.
As my client numbers grew I realised I needed more “me”s if I was going to fulfil my mission of helping as many people as possible navigate the divorce process. So in 2007, I bought my own law firm: Parfitt Cresswell. We started in a small office in Fulham Broadway in West London.
Over the past twelve years, I’ve focused on growing a specialist family law team of qualified lawyers who share the same values as I do. They work hard to provide the very best standards of client support and legal advice to all our family law clients. They’re all experts in family law and are all Members of Resolution, which means they’re committed to taking a conciliatory approach to helping you achieve the best settlement results possible in your situation. However, if it becomes clear your ex or their legal advisor isn’t adopting a conciliatory approach, my family lawyers are more than willing to play hard ball if necessary.
My team also understands the emotional pressures you’re going through and will support you and, in some cases, introduce you to other professionals who can help—like therapists and counsellors.
My mission is very clear—I want to help you get the best possible outcome for you and your family, which is why I wrote my first book: The Good Divorce Guide. Since then, I've written several more books to help people navigate the legal maze of growing older, buying and selling property, and running a business.ver menos