Collaborative law

Collaborative law is a new dispute resolution option which has its origins in the American legal profession.

In the collaborative law process, both spouses retain separate, specially trained lawyers whose job is to help them settle the case. There is a commitment to negotiating agreement on all issues – neither side may litigate against each other. All negotiations take place in a “four-way” settlement meeting that both clients and solicitors attend. Collaborative law involves a respectful, creative effort to meet the legitimate needs of both spouses, as opposed to a more tactical bargaining approach which may be backed by threats of litigation. In the collaborative law process the lawyers must guide the process to towards reasonable solutions or withdraw from further participation. This is different from the normal adversarial approach whereby lawyers would remain involved whether the case settles or goes to court. Both sides in the collaborative law process sign a binding agreement to disclose all documents and information that relate to the issues at the start of the process. Experts such as accountants and surveyors are jointly instructed if they are required.

The collaborative law process is worth considering if the following statements apply to you:

• You want a civilised, respectful resolution to issues


• You would like to keep open the possibility of friendship with your partner down the road


• You and your partner will be co-parenting children together and you want the best co-parenting relationship possible


• You want to protect your children from the harm associated with litigated, dispute resolution between parties


• You value control and autonomous decision-making and do you want to hand over decisions about restructuring your financial or child rearing arrangements to a stranger (i.e. a Judge)