London firm offers divorce vouchers for Christmas

Readers' comments (23)

• Anonymous | 16-Dec-2009 3:12 pm

  Stuck for a gift for your husband/wife this Christmas? Instead of giving them Jamie Oliver's 'Cooking for geezers' wrapped in years of burning resentment, buy them divorce vouchers.
  
  Happy Christmas darling...

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• Britomart | 16-Dec-2009 3:32 pm

  Is this an early April's Fool?

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• Pucka | 16-Dec-2009 4:19 pm

  No, Anonymous really is suggesting the vouchers instead of the Jamie Oliver book, I think.

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• Firenbrimstone | 16-Dec-2009 4:38 pm

  Ha! Finally it outs...Divorce lawyers have long tried to con the public that they are some maligned species of angel, helping unhappy couples to a mutually-agreeable solution...whereas, as practically anyone who has been through a 'normal' divorce (ie one not involving squillions, where a bill the size of a planet is disguised in a 'win' of millions) knows only too well, divorce lawyers delight in squeezing every last penny out of both parties, stoking personal anguish to achieve greater billable hours. They have no incentive but to make divorce as bitter, lengthy and arduous as possible.
  
  Lloyd Platt's witless publicity stunt has indeed bought her publicity, but let's hope the next time she 'graces' the couch on BBC Breakfast blathering about mediation, some clever spark will remind her of this odious scheme.

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• Rural bliss | 16-Dec-2009 4:50 pm

  This stinks. It's not even funny, just a desperately sad and sordid publicity stunt.

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• Anonymous | 16-Dec-2009 5:07 pm

  Check the website - enough said.

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• Dayglo Dave | 16-Dec-2009 5:09 pm

  Cheap stunt. A quick look at the website confirms this. Big on trashy self-publicity. Very short on class.

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• PreesR | 16-Dec-2009 7:15 pm

  Christmas is probably the right time to hand them out , just when the stress factor is at 99 on Christmas Day but the vouchers should come with72 cooling off period, also are refunds available just in case , you know the marraige for unforessen reasons is patched up .. ? seriously How tacky can you get ? I'd sooner pick potatoes . I don't think solictors know anything about marketing, frankly

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• Ashley Balls | 16-Dec-2009 8:35 pm

  A stunt - yes. But a quick squizz at the site reveals some quite horrible statistics in terms of fee earner to support staff ratios. More work (or fewer support) appear to be essential.

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• Samuel Pink | 17-Dec-2009 5:07 am

  I wonder if Loud Pratt will regret “some have commented that this is a ‘blinder’ of a present and very different from the normal electronic gadgets they were envisaging”,
  
  Apart from being so desperately try-hard to use 'blinder', even in a quote, Loud Pratt might consider that Wilde's view that 'not being talked about is the only thing worse than being talked about' is not necessarily true, luv.
  
  Own goal? I think so.

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• Anonymous | 17-Dec-2009 11:22 am

  Just because some clients, or friends of clients, say it is a good idea does not mean it should be taken up; has the firm not heard of risk assessments and reputational damage?
  
  There is nothing wrong in trying to find new novel ways of attracting clients but this is going too far!
  
  This has done nothing for the firm's reputation or that of the profession as a whole!

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• Anonymous | 17-Dec-2009 12:50 pm

  what a nice christmas thought. in most divorces there are children involved, maybe she would like to see their faces light up when the parent receives such an unpleasant gift! Vanessa must be a delightful person....not

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• Carl Conrad | 17-Dec-2009 1:39 pm

  Self-publicity of this sort is despicable. It trivialises what is a very serious issue in modern society. As a divorce practitioner I am ashamed to be a member of the same profession as a lawyer who dscribes this as "a blinder". I rather think that her firm has probabl too little work - and who can wonder why?

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• Eamon Holmes | 17-Dec-2009 2:04 pm

  You have to admire the way that this GMTV attention-seeker has become the most famous divorce lawyer in the country, but as with Jordan, Simon Cowell et al; I wish the media would just ignore these sycophants.
  
  What next? A 25% loyalty discount off the next divorce fee??

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• Olive McCarthy | 17-Dec-2009 3:04 pm

  I am a family lawyer and I use that term rather than divorce lawyer; Christmas and New Year are extremely difficult times for people going through the painful decision of whether or not to separate coupled with the resultant impact on any children, these periods remains the source of greatest turmoil, the suggestion of vouchers may for some clients appear to trivialise these situations. I am sure that most family lawyers would agree that whilst we can not in most cases aid the repair of relationships, we would not wish to belittle those very real difficult situations by suggesting that the service we provide is tantamount to a pleasurable activity that is normally associated with the purchase and gift of vouchers. That said, I guess it is entirely the perogative of a client whether or not to use that facility.

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• Anonymous | 17-Dec-2009 4:45 pm

  This gives those of us who work in family law a bad name. Some of us just want to help people through one of the most difficult times in their lives with the least amount of stress and expense. Anyone with half a brain will tell you it is actually about removing the emotion from the situation and striving for an objective viewpoint. How very foolish to trivialise the nature of Divorce, I certainly hope this backfires on the offending firm horribly.

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• Anonymous | 18-Dec-2009 9:58 am

  I think this is sailing very close to issues arising from Code of Conduct. Does this risk bringing the profession into disrepute?
  And who is the client? The voucher purchaser who then gives it to their spouse (and what a vile and violent gesture that is on Christmas morning) or a friend who is perhaps bored of hearing about the difficulties that the donee is having? Or is the client the voucher user?
  If someone comes in with a voucher, are they under a degree of duress?
  I'm glad to see other commentators here feel the same about this. It is like Brookman all over again.

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• Anonymous | 18-Dec-2009 10:26 am

  I can bet my last dime Vanessa Lloyd Platt is not married; if she is then she definitely is not happy in her marriage. Otherwise I do not see how a womanly woman (never mind a manly one) would advocate divorce is such a blase manner.
  Vanessa Lloyd Platt , watch what you are sowing for yourself there!

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• Andy Hanselman | 18-Dec-2009 4:03 pm

  A poor attempt to get publicity I feel. I think it appears to say a lot about the Firm that they thought this a 'good idea'. Compare this to B&Q's approach to 'gift vouchers' - very different industries I know, but trying to be 'Dramatically and Demonstrably Different' is a powerful way to 'stand out'. You can stand out 'positively' or 'negatively' - these guys seem to have chosen the latter way of doing it. I feel It undermines their 'professionalism'. Still, it gave me something to blog about!
  www.andyhansleman.com

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• James Stewart | 18-Dec-2009 11:29 pm

  Vanessa has once again brought some festive cheer to the Lawyer and its readers.
  
  Those of you who have chosen to decry this unique and valuable contribution to the legal funding debate should perhaps seek solace in one of her recipes, all of which are available on the Llpyd Platt website http://bit.ly/5hbSfx. I would suggest 'chocolate mousse with love". As Vanessa says "After the meal he will not be able to resist your chocolate mousse. It certainly has worked for a number of clients!" I hope that her divorce vouchers work just as well.

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