Collaborative Law is a fundamentally different way to resolve family disputes

• No upsetting and expensive solicitors’ letters
• No threat of court proceedings
• No adversarial negotiations – pitching one person against the other
• No stranger making the decisions about your future
• No delays, unless they are planned and helpful

Instead We will work with you both independently and together to identify your shared interests and to make the exchange of any documentation and information required as efficient, cost effective and straight forward as possible, laying the way for negotiations and an agreed fair outcome.

You will receive your own legal advice and support from lawyers who are trained to work with one another and if you have children, with the focus firmly on them. The process revolves around a series of meetings and in between communications are usually conducted over the telephone.

Meetings are carefully planned so that the things you need to sort out can be discussed and negotiated face to face. Most cases will be settled with between two to five meetings depending on the complexity and the number of issues involved. Rather than dealing ‘through’ your solicitors, you work directly ‘with’ them, to reach the best solutions for you and your family.

Meetings will be either “four way” meetings – ie. the two of you and each of your lawyers. Or they will be “five way” meetings – ie. the two of you, your lawyers and a fifth neutral expert, who is brought into the meeting to advise on any particular aspect of your case that requires expert advice.

You decide on the outcome and settle matters with dignity and with the minimum of acrimony.

You control the timetable for meetings, the venue and those involved. Working with a fifth neutral/other professionals, such as a financial adviser or a family consultant, means you have a dedicated team to provide you with the best possible information, advice and support, and doing so in a way that helps keep misunderstanding and disputes to a minimum.