Judith Middleton – Family Law Specialist

Although born just “down the road” in Stockton, I came to Darlington by a circuitous route which included sojourns in places as diverse as Stratford on Avon and Washington, Co. Durham. My teenage years were spent in Consett, where I attended the local grammar school. Psychometric testing revealed that my true vocation lay either on the stage or in the law courts. This was something of a dilemma and occupied endless hours of consideration until the matter was resolved by a dream in which I appeared to play the part of a medieval serving wench. I awoke from it with the words “Yes m’lud” on my lips and knew that I was destined for the legal world and not the boards. A law degree at the University of Nottingham followed and after a year at the College of Law in Chester I served articles in Newcastle upon Tyne, before heading south to Darlington, where I spent 28 years with another Darlington firm, retiring as a partner from there in order to take up a consultancy position with Macks in May 2011.

I have specialised in family law throughout my career and have been accredited as a specialist by Resolution, a network of over 5,000 solicitors who are committed to adopting a non-confrontational approach to divorce and associated work. I have also trained as a mediator and now actively practice collaborative law, enabling cases to be resolved without the need for contested court cases. I strive to give clients the help and support they need as they go through divorce and relationship breakdowns and hopefully, and if I can, even get them to smile along the way.

I believe in giving back and as well as being the regional Press Officer for Resolution am also a School Governor at the Allertonshire School in Northallerton and act as a Trustee for Sir ED Walker Homes in Darlington.

I am a regular contributor to BBC Radio Tees and host a divorce blog, which has earned certain notoriety and is featured on both the Northern Echo’s and Journal’s websites, at http://judithsdivorceblog.blogspot.com