Alex Sankey
Legal Assistant - Family Law
"I am a legal assistant within the Family team and I assist the wider team by undertaking administrative and research tasks, as well as assisting with drafting documents and liaising with clients, other solicitors and the court.”
I completed a BSc Hons in Biological Sciences at the University of Birmingham in 2019. I then joined Higgs LLP in November 2020 as an office assistant and moved into my position in the family law team in January 2022.
I assist the family law department by undertaking administrative work and managing private children and divorce and finance matters. My primary experience is in dealing with child arrangements involving separated parents but also in more severe cases involving allegations of alienation, alcohol or drug use or domestic abuse.
I also act as a point of contact for our connections with charitable organisations assisting survivors of domestic abuse to help triage enquiries from their service users. These organisations primarily assist adults and children by providing support, advice and housing. I have since become the point of contact for our Fathers’ Rights enquiry page and assist in triaging these enquiries and arranging consultations.
As members of Resolution, we try to focus on helping people reach agreement and resolving conflict constructively, as well as ensuring that we maintain a child-welfare focused approach throughout proceedings.
- Assisted in preparing preliminary documents for an unexpected hearing while the solicitor with conduct was unavailable, leading to a successful and productive hearing, despite the short notice.
- Assisted in a matter where a Father successfully moved from not having met his child to a progressive contact order and unsupervised contact after prolonged litigation.
- Assisted in bringing financial proceedings following a divorce to a close after six years of litigation.
- Took the initiative in arranging an urgent conference with Counsel ahead of a hearing when the solicitor with conduct was not available as the client had become extremely anxious about the proceedings.
- Drafted a brief on a matter involving domestic abuse to request an urgent listing that resulted in a hearing being listed the next day and the client successfully obtaining a non-molestation order for their protection.
- I have recently undertaken a secondment to the Commercial Property team from April to September 2023 to assist with workload and have gained a wealth of experience in a very different area of law, assisting with Landlord/Tenant work, Corporate Support, and a range of other matters.
More about me
Favourite quote
“Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it, too?”
Favourite place
Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Interesting fact
I taught myself to play electric guitar and a little bass while at university
Favourite book
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Latest insights
Meet the team
Philip Barnsley
Partner and Head of Family Law
Megan Davies
Trainee Solicitor - Family Law
Karen Gray
Associate - Family Law
Rhian Gray
Partner - Family Law
Jodie Johnson
Associate - Family Law
Ellie Norton
Principal Associate - Family Law