Collaborative Law - A New Approach To Divorce

Why is it that divorces can so easily become acrimonious, even between couples who start off with the best of intentions? All too often, the legal process results in husband and wife adopting deeply entrenched, opposing positions. This can lead to one spouse threatening to take the other to Court with all the attendant hassle and expense. The legal system adopts an adversarial approach and ultimately it is left to a Judge to decide who gets what. By the time the parties finally get to Court (a process which can easily take the best part of a year), they will have spent a great deal of time and money building up their own case and trying to come up with as many ways as possible to attack and undermine their spouse's case.

As a welcome alternative to this traditional method of resolving matrimonial disputes, a number of solicitors in the UK are now practising collaborative law. The solicitors for each party enter into a binding contract with the divorcing couple which prevents any of them from going to Court and everyone involved a vested interest in achieving an amicable settlement. This is because the solicitors have no option but to withdraw from the case completing if they are unable to reach an agreement out of Court.

Collaborative practice allows couples to retain the services of their own solicitor, but it also encourages them to communicate better with each other and to focus on the needs of the family. This reduces the likelihood that they will become polarised and remain locked in conflict. The collaborative approach emphasises the need to maintain respect for the other party and it recognises that in some cases it is helpful to call upon other experts, such as child specialists, counsellors, financial advisors or accountants, in order to help resolve issues.

In the collaborative law model, regular four-way face to face meetings are held with both parties and their respective solicitors present. This allows the parties to remain in control of the process. Couples are expected to put their cards on the table at an early stage. As a result, experience suggests that there is a much better chance of achieving a settlement and, just as importantly, it can lead to better communication between parents in those cases where the interests of the children are of paramount importance. In the unlikely event that the collaborative approach fails to produce an out of Court settlement, it is open to either of the parties to instruct new solicitors who will then be free to take their case to Court in the traditional way.

In short, the advantages of a collaborative approach are that it avoids confrontation, places the interests of any children uppermost and enables the parties to maintain control of the negotiating process at what can be a very stressful and difficult time in their lives. Collaborative law is constructive and focuses on the future, whereas litigation is often destructive and it is all too easy for the parties to become embittered and negative. Collaborative law is not for everyone, however, and should be avoided where there is a history of domestic violence or where one party is strongly suspected of hiding his or her assets or income.