Shot Before Dawn
The Players, The Parties
Collaborative Law
A senior judge has given his backing to a radical new approach to divorce favoured by many celebrities and high net worth individuals.
Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, a justice in the UK’s new Supreme Court, said the collaborative approach – recently used by comedian Robin Williams - was now having a profound impact on matrimonial law.
Speaking at a meeting of 200 of London's leading family lawyers on the rooftop of Shoreditch House, he said the essence of the new approach was conciliation, not “the vindication of one side over the other.”
Lord Kerr, the youngest member of the Supreme Court, said such collaboration helped “shape a solution” to a divorcing couple’s problems, allowing them to “sustain a relationship after the parties had left the stage.”
One of the most inspiring facts about the collaborative approach was that 85 per cent of couples who used it had been able to agree an amicable settlement, he said.
Celebrity and high-net-worth clients have been quick to see the benefits of this cost-effective and discreet form of settling a divorce. It offers clients absolute privacy, something which is no longer available in the Family Courts and is often much cheaper than litigation through the courts.
James Stewart, a partner at Manches, who introduced Lord Kerr, said: "Collaborative law is new, exciting and dispenses with formality. It enables couples to reach a civilised and fair resolution to the practical issues which arise in separation and divorce without the need for Court intervention."
He added: " The growth of collaborative law in London and beyond, demonstrates that huge numbers of family lawyers, including those who have historically acted in high-profile/high net worth cases, are seeking an alternative to the adversarial approach which can all too often damage families".
Among those who attended the reception were Jane Simpson, Chairman of Manches, Maggie Rae, Head of Family at Clintons, Sarah Lloyd, Director of ADR at Resolution and Mr Justice Coleridge who has, for some time, championed collaborative law.
As former Lord Justice of Northern Ireland, Lord Kerr has been responsible for marshalling the Northern Irish judicial system through a difficult period following the Good Friday Agreement. This, and his previous experience as an ad-hoc Judge in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasberg, all point to someone who is acutely aware of the devastating effect of conflict and division, whether in Northern Ireland or within the domestic unit of the troubled family.
His words of support will come as a welcome shot in the arm for the collaborative movement of London.
Rebecca Newitt is an associate in the family law practice of Manches LLP
Photographs (c) Lynol Lui
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Q
I have been reading in the press recently that if you are not a UK citizen it is going to become more difficult to divorce in the UK. Is this true?
A
It is a fact that in recent years there has been an increase in ‘forum shopping’ divorces and London has been described as the divorce capital of the world.
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