Menikou: Changing perceptions
A solicitor who says she has been bombarded with requests for help from people wanting to divorce but unable to afford a lawyer has launched a DIY course for £79.99.
Fotoulla Menikou will shortly also create a membership scheme which divorcing people could join for more support.
She said she wanted to “change the perception of legal professionals as being focused on legal fees and what a firm can earn”.
“I am passionate about family law. I just don’t feel comfortable as a practitioner knowing that a lot of people can’t afford me and need help.”
Ms Menikou, who operates as The Friendly Family Lawyer from the Excello Law platform, said initially requests for help came from her website, but since she started posting on TikTok earlier this year, she started getting “a lot of messages” from there.
The solicitor, who also posts on Instagram and LinkedIn, said: “I’m trying to make the law accessible for all. I’ve got enough paying clients and I don’t take on a high volume of cases.
“I’ve been a client myself and it was not a pleasant experience. We can teach people about family law in a way that will help them arm themselves.”
She markets the course as costing less than a 12-minute consultation with a solicitor. “You don’t need a solicitor to take control of your divorce. You just need the right guidance,” the website says.
The course takes the form of an e-book containing a step-by-step legal guide to filing for divorce, with clickable hyperlinks to every form a person would need. It is aimed at situations that are not “high-conflict or legally complex”.
It covers the “common pitfalls” experienced by DIY divorcees. In particular, she said, people who divorced without a solicitor often ignored their finances.
“They think that once they’ve dissolved their marriage, they have solved the issue of their finances. Some believe they don’t have any assets and don’t need a clean break order, others think they’ve divided the assets by selling their house.”
Ms Menikou said “many people came unstuck” when what they needed was a consent order.
While there is a dedicated email address for “educational support”, for those wanting more support, the solicitor said she is planning to launch a community in September that would give members the opportunity to watch her interviewing pension experts and barristers, as well as explanations of how to fill in certain forms.
Members will pay a monthly fee, which Ms Menikou said was likely to be £35.99 per month.
“It will be there to help people, not to earn income. It would be lovely to get 50-100 members, but 10-50 would be enough. If I can help one person, it would be worth it.”
Ms Menikou initially worked in the City in debt and equity finance before deciding to requalify as a New York attorney.
This came to nothing after a car accident “derailed” her career, and instead of going to America, she retrained as a family lawyer in a high street firm “and loved it”.
Family lawyers have been at the forefront of the trend towards unbundling legal advice, providing advice at key moments as clients run their own matters.
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