A LIVERPOOL family law specialist is lobbying to take divorce out of the courts.
Fiona Davidson, of Mace & Jones, is urging fellow lawyers to offer their divorcing clients an alternative to a bitter and expensive dispute played out in a courtroom.
She is one of a small but growing number of family lawyers trained in collaborative law, by which couples must commit to working together towards negotiated agreements – rather than fighting it out through their solicitors and the law courts.
The scheme aims to maintain good relations between partners through a series of round table meetings involving the husband, wife and their lawyers.
Ms Davidson, chair of the Merseyside Collaborative Law Group, and one of five solicitors at Mace & Jones qualified in collaborative law, said: “Collaborative law encourages parties to exchange financial documents and adopt a ‘cards on the table’ approach.
“Although it may be difficult at the outset, ultimately it is far quicker, cheaper and less stressful than the alternative of exchanging letters via solicitors and possibly ending up trying to settle matters in court.�
With the collaborative law process, each solicitor provides legal advice and guidance to their client but all four parties work as a team to reach an agreement.
In the beginning, both parties and their respective solicitors sign up to a participation agreement confirming their commitment to resolving the dispute without going to court.
Discussions focus on the parties’ concerns and children, if any.
This encourages communication between parties and provides an ideal forum for parties to openly discuss issues, thus helping the relationship move forward to the next stage following its breakdown.
Other professionals, such as trained child specialists, counsellors and financial professionals may be included to assist parties to reach resolution.
Ms Davidson and her colleagues will be encouraging clients to consider collaborative law by pointing out the advantages, and will also be lobbying fellow professionals to build networks of trained collaborative lawyers.
The concept of collaborative law started in the USA and Canada but has been slow to take off in the UK since being introduced about four years ago.
Last year, there were around 148,000 divorces in Britain, of which at least 60% ended up in court.
The high profile acrimonious divorce of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills-McCartney illustrates the benefit of collaborative law.
Ms Davidson added: “The aim is to keep relations as amicable as possible between the two parties.�