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A joint effort

05 August 2011 / Graham Coy
Issue: 7477 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family
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Graham Coy sings the praises of collaborative law

“There has got to be a better way than this.” How many times have clients said this when, eventually, they reach the end of court proceedings about their divorce, their children or their finances? Their view is often shared by their lawyers and even by the judges who have to make decisions where no agreement can be reached. The answer to the question is “yes”, there is a better way and it is “collaborative law”. This article will look at the nature and size of the problem, what collaborative law is and what it can offer.

High divorce rate

In 2009, there were 113,949 divorces, in other words over 250,000 people were caught up in the legal process. According to the court service, nearly 100,000 children under 16 were also involved in court proceedings started by one or other of their parents.
To put this into some perspective, this is more than the populations of some of our largest cities, Southampton, Leicester and Newcastle.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
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