Collaborative Law
This is a new approach to family law which has been brought over from North America.
Collaborative Practice is for those people who are confronting divorce or separation and want to reach
solutions in an amicable way that meets the needs of the entire family. Divorce is life changing and how
you choose to divorce may have great significance on what follows. The Collaborative philosophy is to
educate and guide people to take control of what is happening in their lives so that they can find a
commonsense way to resolve complex family problems with dignity and respect.
In Collaborative Practice couples, their lawyers and other professionals work together in round table
meetings to negotiate agreements to resolve financial and other issues without the involvement of the courts.
Crucially, the couple agree from the outset that they will not take each other to court unless the negotiations
break down - in which case they each have to instruct new lawyers. This creates a huge incentive on all
involved to work through difficulties until acceptable solutions are reached.
It is all too common in the traditional approach to find that the threat of court polarises attitudes and
sometimes accentuates the differences, rather than acknowledging that the couple have a mutual interest in
working together to make the most of the family resources to ensure that all family members’ needs have been
provided for.
If you would like to know more about Collaborative Law please speak to
Julia Smart of our Family Department.