Collaborative Law Centres of Australia

What is Collaborative Law

Collaborative Law is a means where two parties to a dispute, family, commercial or contractual, can work out a solution without resorting to the cost, unpleasantness and uncertainty of a day in court.

It is an alternative dispute process known as an Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Briefly, Collaborative Law is a process where spouses or parties and their lawyers commit themselves to resolving differences in a manner acceptable to both parties without the threat of court proceedings or any form of litigation. Collaborative Law uses informal discussions and conferences attended by spouses or parties and their lawyers to settle all of the issues. A major goal of the collaborative process is to maximize settlement options for the benefit of the parties and their children, if applicable.

At a four-way meetings attended by spouses or parties and their lawyers, they jointly identify and discuss issues, decide which documents need to be informally exchanged, and agree on joint experts, if necessary.

A significant component of the collaborative process is a commitment that, in the event that the process breaks down, neither lawyer will represent their client in litigation. Further, the joint experts are precluded from testifying for either side.

This insures total commitment to the process and distinguishes Collaborative Practice from the litigation-based negotiation with which we are all familiar.

What are the advantages of Collaborative Law?

1. Each party is represented by his or her own lawyer from the beginning
2. The lawyers and clients all work on settlement, without the distraction of preparing for litigation
3. Clients, not the Court, are in control of the process and outcome
4. No threats of Ill see you in Court
5. Attorneys avoid language that is accusatory, blame-oriented, critical or judgmental
6. Focus is on creative solutions and problem solving, rather than replaying the past issues or problems
7. Attorneys facilitate settlement
8. Process is confidential
9. The lawyers are available to provide advice during the negotiation sessions (as opposed to mediation, in which the parties are not represented by counsel, and dont have counsel available to them during the negotiation)
10. Process is aimed at avoiding further division of the parties
11. Process helps the clients to learn to communicate, which is beneficial to the clients and their children in the future

For further information on Collaborative Law and the Collaborative Law Centres of Australia phone Our head office on (02) 4954 0122

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