Personal: Collaborative Law

Collaborative law is a relatively new and innovative way of dealing with family disputes. Each party appoints their own lawyer but instead of conducting negotiations between you and your partner by letter or phone you meet together to work things out face to face.

The benefit is that each party will have their lawyer by their side throughout the entire process and so benefit from legal advice as they go. The aim of collaborative law is to resolve family disputes without going to Court.

In order for the process to work both parties must instruct a lawyer who is qualified to practice in collaborative law. Not all solicitors are qualified and you need to check on the website of Resolution www.resolution.org.uk (formerly the Solicitors Family Law Association) in order to contact a collaborative lawyer.

If the collaborative process proceeds you will meet with your lawyer and discuss a way forward. We then plan a "four way" meeting at which yourself, your former partner and both lawyers will sit around a table to discuss and hopefully resolve the issues.

All four parties are expected to sign an agreement which gives a commitment to resolving issues without going to Court. If the agreement is signed the lawyers are not allowed to take the case to Court (expect for an agreed process such as the divorce). The meetings will follow an agenda which has been agreed by yourself and your former partner. There can be several four way meetings depending on the nature and complexity of the issues.

Collaborative law is designed to encourage an amicable and respectful resolution of issues between the parties.

It is different to mediation in which the mediators cannot give legal advice. Your collaborative lawyer will look after your interests within the framework of being committed to trying to achieve the settlement.

The range of issues which collaborative law can tackle has no bounds. At Davies and Partners we can deal with divorce settlement, children issues, pre-nuptial agreements, living together agreements, disputes between cohabitees, same sex relationship issues etc. Collaborative law is not usually appropriate where there are issues of domestic violence and harassment. Cases are initially vetted to ensure they are appropriate for this process.

If you need any further information please contact us and ask to speak to Michael Follis who is qualified in collaborative law.

If you wish to discuss matters with one of our team concerning your situation please do not hesitate to contact us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone us. Click here for our contact details.