Family Law Collaborative Divorce Blog : Bath Divorce Solicitors : Sharp Family Law : UK Collaborative Law & Family Mediation : Bristol, Swindon & Southern England

Having practiced as a solicitor in the specialised field of Family Law and Divorce Court litigation for over 25 years (including 15 years as a Partner in a top UK 100 Law Firm) in Bath, Bristol, Swindon and London, Richard Sharp is devoted to helping separating and divorcing clients who want to avoid the trauma of prolonged arguments to reach solutions that work for them and their families.

Having trained and practiced in Collaborative Practice and Mediation in the UK and the USA, Richard Sharp has the expertise and experience to support and provide advice and assistance to separating and divorcing clients. He is a leading figure in the development of Collaborative Practice and of the Collaborative Community in the UK. He co-founded Collaborative Family Lawyers (CFL) to represent Collaborative Practitioners throughout "Wessex" and the South/South West of England.

Richard Sharp conducted the first Intercontinental and inter-jurisdictional Collaborative Practice case with a Californian Attorney and has handled a number of cases across England. He speaks and presents on Collaborative Practice in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia, is the author of articles on the subject and has appeared on both Regional radio and television. 



Richard is a member of the Law Society, the Lawyers Christian Fellowship, Resolution, and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP). In his spare time Richard enjoys watching his beloved Bath Rugby, playing golf and being a taxi service for his teenage children.

Sharp Family Law was founded in 2008 to provide a family law service that helps separating and divorcing clients to reach solutions that work for them and their families.

The Firm assists clients to reach an optimal resolution by:

• Helping clients to find creative solutions to issues and concerns verses Court imposed decisions;
• Providing clients with the legal information, advice, support and service to help them identify what is most important; and
• Working in collaboration with a Team of Experts that includes Financial Planners, Child Specialists, Divorce Coaches, Counsellors and Therapists, to address the financial and emotional aspects of a separation and divorce.

The end of a personal relationship can be the beginning of traumatic and unfamiliar emotional feelings, financial changes and legal processes. For many, it is a very difficult time in their lives and managing money and emotions can be hard.

Richard Sharp offers an approach that brings clients the best resources to address the emotional, financial and legal aspects of a separation and divorce.

He works with a Team of Experts including Financial Planners, Child Specialists, Divorce Coaches, Counsellors and Therapists, to help you successfully adjust to and understand the realities of your new situation, reach agreeable financial and family solutions, preserve relationships and move on with your life.

As a Chartered Financial Planner and Resolution accredited IFA Divorce Specialist, Miles Hendy can help you through your divorce without you destroying your finances. He applies his expertise to help you split your assets in a way that maximizes your wealth and avoids expensive pitfalls.

Miles has experience as a Financial Neutral in collaborative divorces where he applies his technical knowledge and attention to detail, to recognize opportunities for creating wealth. In addition to helping you make the most out of your assets, Miles works hard to explain the essential points in a simple way.

Chris Mills is a psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer who specialises in working with couples. Approaching the subject from their different professional perspectives, he and Richard have found much in common in their views of how divorce and separation are best managed for the benefit of the family involved. Chris sees resolution of the emotional differences, through sensitively mediated dialogue, as the core prerequisite of sound, sustainable legal and financial agreements.

Chris and Richard are committed to ongoing peer support, deepening and strengthening their own working relationship in order to give their shared clients a seamless, personal and fully integrated service in which emotion, vision and action are given equal value. To see more of the full range of Chris’s work, you can visit his website.

Angela Markham has over 30 years' experience of working with people. She began in social work with children and families, then trained as a Family Therapist, registering in 1993, and has developed a well-renowned private practice since that time, working with individuals, couples and families. She also works part-time in the NHS.

Angela believes divorce is not a single event, but a cycle of stressful changes, conflict and loss, whether divorce is wished-for or not. Working with people who are at some point in the divorce process, Angela thinks it is not helpful to judge or blame, but to identify ways to survive in the least damaging way. In a family with children, this includes thinking about what the children are really feeling and thinking, what help and reassurance they need, and what arrangements are best for them. Angela aims to help you find your strength and resilience, so that you can move on with a sense of achievement, and with hope.

Sometimes people who are already divorced, realise that they are struggling with something linked with that, especially if they have children. It can help to come and explore what's going on, and to find a way through.

A Resolution accredited IFA and Pension Transfer Specialist, Chris Williams is experienced in helping clients suffering from the uncertainty and financial implications of divorce and separation.

Chris is one of the very few advisers in the UK to have achieved both Chartered Financial Planner status and hold the Certified Financial Planner license. He is a Director of a Capital Management PLC is an advocate of the transition to professionalism in Financial Services, establishing and chairing the Bath branch of the Institute of Financial Planning.