Collaborative Law Wales is an organisation of specialist family lawyers who share a commitment to resolving the issues following relationship breakdown in a constructive and amicable way. We are all members of Resolution and all trained Collaborative lawyers. Some of us are also trained mediators, arbitrators or accredited as specialist by The Law Society and/or Resolution.
Choosing a lawyer that is right for you is one of, if not the most important decision you can make. Take time to explore our members’ profiles and individual firm websites. Please do also feel free to call us for an informal chat to see whether the Collaborative process is right for you.
Matthew qualified in 1998 and has worked for some of the region's leading firms. He specialises in private client divorce cases, financial proceedings, children matters, cohabitation, civil partnership dissolution and family law generally. Matthew is a member of Resolution for Family Lawyers and a qualified Collaborative Lawyer. This means although he is experienced in dealing with cases in the traditional litigation fashion, he is trained in and committed to trying to reach agreement wherever possible and helping parties avoid court. This can minimise cost and reduce conflict, which is particularly important where children are involved.
Matthew's overall expertise has seen him interviewed on national radio and in the national press.
Matthew is also well regarded in the Business Community and has held high profile positions with leading business referral organisation, Business Network International (BNI), as well as winning the BNI regional award for exceptional business and networking skills. He has been elected Director of Chapters in Cardiff and Newport.
Lindsay is a senior partner in her Firm and a highly experienced Family Law solicitor whose expertise, gained over the last 23 years, covers every aspect of marital or relationship break-down and issues relating to children. As well as being trained to solve disputes collaboratively, Lindsay is also a mediator of many years standing and is therefore highly committed to family and children issues being resolved using a conciliatory method.
Sandra is the Head of the Matrimonial and Family Department at Quality Solicitors J A Hughes. Sandra specialises in all aspects of Family law, including divorce, children and financial matters, including both private and legal aid work. Sandra also advises in care cases. Sandra meets with clients in any of the 3 offices in Cardiff, Barry and Penarth.
Memberships: Sandra is a member of the Law Society Advanced Family Panel and trained Collaborative lawyer.
Career: Sandra qualified in 1987 having partially served her articles with J A Hughes. She was made Partner in 1992 and became head of the Family and Matrimonial department the same year.
Education: Sandra enrolled at Cardiff University to study Law. On graduation from Cardiff University Sandra moved on to Lancaster Gate, London to study for her Law Society Finals and obtain her status as a legal professional. Sandra graduated from her finals and quickly obtained her first legal role.
Personal: Sandra is married with one child and living near Cardiff.
Leisure: Sandra spends her spare time enjoying time with her family, gardening and reading.
Katie McColgan is the Head of the Family Team at Berry Smith solicitors. As a highly experienced family solicitor and Accredited Member of Resolution (a professional body of family lawyers committed to a non-confrontational approach to family disputes), she has always sought to achieve the best long term solution for her clients through professionalism, negotiation, mediation and collaboration.
Believing that separating couples and particularly, their children, do best when they are able to continue working with each other, she became the first solicitor to train as a family mediator in Wales in 1992 and she continues to sit as the Chair of Family Mediators (South Wales) Limited to date. With the development of Collaborative Law, she was again among the first to train and operate in this newer area of family law.
Listed as a first tier firm for family work in the Legal 500 and noted for her work with high value financial disputes, she is accredited by Resolution for her work with emergency remedies, child disputes and domestic violence.
For many years Katie ran a question and answer column for a local newspaper, then for a local magazine, Kids come First.
She is also the former Welsh representative in the National Interdisciplinary Forum in London.
In her spare time, Katie currently works on a voluntary basis with various youth groups in the South Wales area.
Malcolm qualified in 1977 and has been Head of the Family Law Department at Hugh James for almost 12 years.
He specialises in high net worth financial claims and private law children matters.
The ethos of the Department is to provide support in a professional and sensitive manner and to achieve solutions by negotiation rather than litigation if at all possible.
The Department has the advantage of being able to call upon expertise within the firm in the fields of tax, asset management, employment, trust and corporate law.
Malcolm has been recognised in the 2012 edition of Legal 500 as having “a strong reputation, within the region and beyond, and regularly acts in multi-million pound divorce cases”. In the 2011 version he was described as having an “excellent, client-based, focused attitude, and is commercial: a very safe pair of hands”. The Department has a top tier rating.
In Chambers UK 2011 Malcolm was described as having clients who have “absolute trust in him because he won’t settle for second best”.
