handshake Collaborative Law -
Committed to resolving issues without going to court.

Page last amended February 10th.

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Winston Solicitors offer collaborative law advice, helping to provide a more cost effective and less adversarial approach to divorce. Learn more about how a collaborative divorce can lead to a more dignified and respectful outcome.

There is another description of collaborative Law, intended for people not familiar with the term, here.

  • Alternative Family Law - Southwark, London, provides information in German as well as English on family law, with particular emphasis on complex financial cases and unmarried families. Collaborative Law is one of the approaches covered.

  • Amicable Divorce is a new site which has been created by a group of solicitors in Worcester who practice either mediation or collaborative family law. This is the first time that a group of Family Law ADR specialists have established a site that covers the spectrum of available ADR in a geographically defined area. There is general information on mediation and collaborative law as well as information on the individual firms and solicitors available in the area for this type of work. The site also includes details of divorce coaches and (currently one) financial neutral.

  • Collaborative Family Law Group provides a basic organisation for collaborative lawyers with a register of members and other information.

  • Collaborative Law is a site (and service) offered by Winston Solicitors. They are firmly committed to helping their client reach agreement with the ex-partner in an amicable way so they can continue to communicate with each other afterwards. Team leader Viv Hulland was one of the first practising collaborative lawyers in the north of England, having trained in May 2005.

  • Devon Family Mediation Agency, based in Exeter and established in 1991, is one of the largest agencies of its kind in the country and pioneered the Mediation movement. It can assist couples from all over the region who are experiencing separation or divorce. All mediators are selected and trained to recognized National and European standards and directly accountable to a national body; FMA, SFLA or PDT. All are members of the UK College of Family Mediators (UKCFM).

  • Divorce Aid is a site run by an independent group of professionals who volunteer their time to help people with divorce problems. Advice is provided, by email, without any payment or promise of further work. There is also a great deal of free information, attractively and helpfully presented, on the site itself (and some attractive graphic designs to go with the sections). They even operated a full service over Christmas! They promote mediation and counselling and also promote collaborative law, as a new, more dignified, approach to divorce.

  • Hartnell Chanot & Partners are Family Law Solicitors established in 1991 by Norman Hartnell who has been practicing Mediation since 1989. Norman also established the Devon Family Mediation Agency (see above) one of the first mediation consortiums in the country with a Legal Services Commission franchise and over 20 mediators.

  • QueerPod is a joint project between a number of gay and lesbian lawyers working in different firms and who have specialist expertise in the law as it affects lesbian and gay relationships. They are all trained in collaborative law, the legal process designed to facilitate couples and other family members reaching agreement and resolving issues arising from their relationship or separation without having recourse to the Courts. Individual members come from Burton Woods, Campbell Hooper, Bross Bennett, Josiah-Lake, Hughes Fowler Carruthers, Griffith Smith, Russell-Cooke, Lynch & co., Alternative Family Law, Osbornes, Family Law in Partnership and Bedford Chambers. This is the first cross-firm initiative of this kind that I have come across.

    A quick description of Collaborative Law from Hartnell Chanot & Partners

    Collaborative law is fairly new to the UK and is fundamentally changing the way people think about family law. In short it is a new way to resolve divorce and family disputes - collaborative lawyers and their clients agree in writing to reach settlement without court involvement. They agree to work together to resolve children and financial issues arising out of the separation, and may enlist other experts, such as child specialists, as part of the team. It brings lawyers into the process, and helps minimise costs and hopefully conflict for all concerned.

    At its simplest, collaborative law is about making key decisions about the future all together in the same room, face to face. Clients agree not go to court and the Collaborative lawyers sign an agreement with them that disqualifies them from representing them in court if the process breaks down. This means that collaborative lawyers are absolutely committed to helping clients find the best solutions by agreement, rather than conflict.

    Its quite a radical movement, and there are only about 250 Collaborative Lawyers in the Country. Further information can be found on the Hartnell Chanot and Collaborative Family Law Group sites.

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