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No need to see you in court

No need to see you in court
There's a new kind of law in town. Alternative dispute resolution is replacing the more traditional court based method of sorting out conflicts. Alternative dispute resolution focuses on parties meeting together to collaborate on an outcome. It seems we're finally understanding that prolonged court cases are not necessarily the best way to resolve disputes. Apart from being costly, they also tend to be stressful, which is not beneficial to anyone, lawyers included.

One area where alternative dispute resolution is being adopted has been family law, an area often associated with acrimonious and high conflict disputes. It's also an area of the law which is known for being at the forefront of finding new and creative approaches to conflict resolution, the latest of which is a process known as collaborative law. Collaborative law has a strong focus on negotiation, and on parties sitting down together to find a resolution. Collaborative lawyers are trained negotiators. Their aim is to work as a team, both with each other and with their clients to create a satisfactory and workable resolution to the dispute at hand.
All negotiations are conducted with the clients and their lawyers present. The lawyers act as co-council, rather than as advocates or adversaries. The aim to encourage each party to speak for themselves, and to each other. Neutral experts, such as accountants, psychologists, financial planners and valuers can attend meetings, and provide information, or give guidance on relevant issues.
The parties are encouraged to work towards meeting needs, rather than a more traditional "need to win" scenario. Parties are also given legal advice about their rights early in the process with the aim to create negotiations that are interest-based, rather than position-based.

One of the main strengths of collaborative law is that each party, and their lawyers, sign a collaboration contract, which contains a promise to settle the dispute without litigation. If the dispute cannot be settled, the parties must instruct new lawyers for any further litigation, and the collaborative lawyer is prevented from acting further for them. Documents and evidence from the collaboration are inadmissible in any later court proceedings.

Which is important, as another feature of the collaborative process is full disclosure. Parties agree to a full disclosure of financial records and other relevant documents. The aim behind this is to ensure that parties can make an informed decision.
Collaborative law is still in its early days in Australia, but has been enjoying success in other countries. While still relatively new here, the signs are promising.

In the tricky area of Family law, where high levels of client satisfaction are difficult to achieve because of the sensitive subject matter, collaborative law is a positive and welcome development.

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