Collaborative law

Collaborative law is an alternative way of resolving family law matters such as divorce, separation and parenting disputes. It’s an approach that encourages all parties to reach solutions together to ease the pain of the relationship breakdown and to create the best chance of building a brighter future for you and your family.

Traditionally, when couples split they each take independent advice, hopefully from specialist family lawyers. Working through the lawyers they try to reach agreement on how best to settle their differences in relation to assets and children.

Working with your solicitor

Collaborative law provides an alternative. You and your former partner get together, and with the help of your solicitors, work out your differences face to face. The beauty of this approach is that you are dealing with your solicitor and your partner’s solicitor to reach the best solutions for you and your family, not dealing through your solicitors.

This allows you to retain responsibility and dignity while maintaining good protective and supportive family relationships, with the control of both parties, over your future. You can even receive legal advice and support outside the four-way meetings from your respective lawyers.

You and your former partner and both lawyers will sign an agreement which prevents your solicitors from representing either of you in court proceedings if the collaborative process breaks down. This shows our commitment to helping you find the best solution by agreement rather than through conflict and contested court proceedings.

If children are involved both parties remain parents and it will help the children to cope better with the separation if they can see that you are working together to resolve problems and share responsibilities for the future.