Australian Family Lawyers Resolution Centre

Collaborative law is a form of Dispute Resolution where clients and their respective lawyers agree to work together to find a fair solution without involving the Court system.

In a family law context this involves all parties and their lawyers collaborating to achieve an agreement to the financial and/or child related issues arising from a separation. The majority of the negotiations take place in “4 way” face to face meetings between the parties and their lawyers where the important issues are identified and negotiated. Once an agreement is reached the lawyers will draw up a document which may be submitted to the Court to become a Consent Order.

Advantages of Collaborative Law

• A dignified, non-aggressive resolution of the issues can be achieved.
• Children’s wants, needs and interests can be put at the forefront.
• You do not wish to incur the costs of animosity generated by court litigation.
• Retention of control over decisions regarding your financial decision regarding your financial issues and parenting arrangements.

All professionals involved in the collaborative process are bound by their own professional conduct rules and have a strict duty of client confidentiality. This confidentiality will only be overridden if any of the experts involved have a professional obligation to make a report to a relevant authority.

In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. Charles Darwin