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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. What

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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