Meet The Team

JLS Solicitors was founded by Justine Soper in 2008 and very much reflects Justine’s own philosophy and ethos.

Having left school at 16 to work in a legal practice, she studied for her legal qualifications part-time in the evenings; a long and arduous process. Initially qualifying as a Legal Executive, she continued her studies at the prestigious Guildford College of Law, graduating as a Solicitor in 1997, achieving the highest grades on her course that year.

Commitment

Justine’s commitment to helping clients reach agreement through dispute resolution is very much grounded in these early days of her career.

Having observed at first hand the detrimental effects of having to go to court for a judge to decide what was going to happen – as Court was a requirement for divorce then – Justine was an early adopter of mediation practices.

In Justine’s own words “Why would you want a stranger (the Judge) telling you how to live your life or what should happen to your children?”

Accreditations

Initially qualifying as a Family Mediator in 2003 Justine is now an Accredited Family Mediator. She subsequently also became a Collaborative Solicitor and Family Law Arbitrator (although she no longer works herself as an arbitrator).

Justine is a Member of the Law Society’s Advanced Family Law Panel.

She is also on Resolution’s Parenting after Parting committee whose aim is to inform family lawyers on best practice for child focused outcomes to financial and parenting disputes, and to provide resources and information to separating parents to help them help their children following relationship breakdown.

Approach

Justine’s knowledge of family law is extensive and she has a very calm and considered approach; always able to stand back and help a client think through the consequences of a decision, not just on them but on any other parties e.g. any children.

She is also extremely thorough, disciplined and has a great attention to detail and if, despite all best intentions, you do end up in court, you can be confident in her steely determination to do her best for you.

However, fundamentally Justine believes a client’s future happiness is best achieved by them being in control and making agreements that they are comfortable with, hence her focus on Dispute Resolution methods. She will use her extensive knowledge, well-practiced skills and expertise to guide you through this process.