Collaborative Law

In many situations, collaborative law can be a more constructive way of dealing with separation than conventional legal methods as it focuses on negotiating agreements respectfully and creatively. We can help you decide if it would work for you.

If you separate from your partner, the way you handle the separation can determine whether you have a good relationship in the future. If you, your former partner and your lawyers take an adversarial approach from the outset, the likelihood of good communication in the future diminishes.

Collaborative law focuses on meeting the legitimate needs of both spouses, respectfully.

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.

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

• You want a civilised, respectful resolution of issues
• You would like to keep open the possibility of friendship with your partner
• 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 not want to hand over decisions about restructuring your financial or child rearing arrangements to a judge

The head of our Family Law team, Lesley Gordon, is on the national committee of the Scottish Collaborative Family Law Group, and uses collaborative law to help many clients. We are happy to discuss whether it would be the best way to approach your own separation or divorce.