Separate well with collaborative law

Collaborative law is a valuable alternative to court. It involves you, your ex and your lawyers reaching an agreement together about your divorce or separation through a series of meetings.

In the collaborative law process, you and your ex negotiate an agreement about your divorce or separation face to face. You will each be supported by specially trained collaborative lawyers. This is why the meetings are sometimes called four-way meetings – you, your lawyer, your ex and their lawyer will be at each meeting.

What you need to know

Collaborative law is a non-confrontational approach to resolving the issues that arise when a relationship breaks down. This could be about your divorce, sorting out your financial arrangements or agreeing how you will co-parent your children in the future.

You and your ex work together with your specially trained collaborative lawyers to resolve issues and agree terms for your divorce or separation through a series of face-to-face meetings.

An important feature is that you sign an agreement at the start (a participation agreement) that commits everyone to using the collaborative process to achieve an agreement. If the negotiations break down and you need to go to court to sort out your finances or the arrangements for your children, you will need to instruct new lawyers because the agreement prevents your collaborative lawyers continuing to represent you. This provides an incentive for everyone, including your lawyers, to find a solution.

Both of you will have your lawyer by your side throughout the process, meaning you will have their support and legal advice along the way. 

The collaborative law process is private and confidential as well as being very flexible. It can be tailored to suit your family’s circumstances. You can fix the rules and the agenda you want to follow in the meetings. You can also bring specialists into the meetings, such as independent financial advisers, accountants and family consultants to help you practically and emotionally. As a result, collaborative law can often result in more creative solutions than those that can normally be found through the traditional route of going directly to the courts.

Once you have an agreement, your collaborative lawyers can prepare a settlement agreement setting out what you have agreed. This then goes to the court to be approved and turned into a binding order.

Get in touch

Our team of legal experts are here to support you.
Contact one of our lawyers today.

Our lawyers

Our lawyers were among the first family lawyers to train as collaborative lawyers. Now, many of our family lawyers are qualified in using collaborative law for divorce and have considerable experience of working with people in a variety of situations to reach a fair divorce agreement.

Our clients

All our clients are encouraged to consider alternatives to court – whether they work outside the home or not, live in this country or abroad, are a business owner, a high-profile individual, a farmer or are parents in dispute.

Why choose family lawyers from Mills & Reeve?

  • We strive to offer an unrivalled client experience, keeping our values at the centre of our decision-making at all times.
  • We have a wealth of experience and expertise to provide you with practical advice relating to your case.
  • You'll find our offices in seven major cities across England, including London, Birmingham and Manchester.
  • We're recognised by prestigious legal bodies, including Legal 500, Law Society and Chambers and Partners.
  • Our family lawyers are members of Resolution, a national family justice organisation committed to finding non-confrontational methods of dealing with family law issues. Our work with them helps us to provide you with a conscientious, constructive, and cost-effective service. This defines our approach to everything we do

Resources

What is collaborative law?

This vlog from Cailtin Jenkins explains how can it help people to resolve disputes arising out of family breakdown. She answers questions such as "how does it actually work?" and "what types of situations is it suitable for, or not suitable for?".

Explaining family law podcast

Facing a family law issue and not sure what's involved? Our podcast is the right place to start.

Family and children blog

Our family and children law blog provides practical advice and insight on a wide range of topics by our family and children lawyers.

Navigating separation survey

Explore key findings from our YouGov survey on married individuals' views on family law issues and dispute resolution.

What our clients say about us?

“Mills & Reeve are committed to mediation and are very successful at it. The firm has embraced mediation (and ADR generally) very early on an has a great reputation for it.”

Legal 500

“Absolutely fabulous and mediates some very tricky situations with high-profile individuals.”

Legal 500

“Responsive, positive and helpful - all that I could have asked for from a mediator.”

A client

Collaborative law FAQs

Collaborative law is a way of resolving disputes and coming to an agreement about your divorce or separation without going to court. You, your ex and your lawyers (who need to be trained in collaborative law) meet together to negotiate an agreement that meets the specific circumstances of your family.

At the outset, you agree not to go to court to sort out the financial or children arrangements following your separation. If the process breaks down, you will each need to find a new lawyer. This provides an incentive for everyone to work towards finding a solution.

Collaborative law is private, confidential and very flexible. You and your ex set the agenda. This puts you both in control of the timetable and priorities as well as the outcome.

However, unlike mediation, you have a collaborative lawyer alongside you every step of the way, meaning you get legal advice and support both in the meetings and between meetings. Collaborative law is also cheaper, quicker and less stressful than going to court.

This really depends on how complex the issues are and how ready you and your ex are to negotiate an agreement.

On average, collaborative law can take four to five meetings to reach a resolution. This could be over weeks or months, depending on the timetable you set.

Whilst both options have their similarities, the biggest difference is that collaborative lawyers act as both a legal adviser and a negotiator in the meetings. A mediator cannot provide legal advice and needs to remain impartial or neutral when helping a separating couple come to an agreement.

A collaborative divorce involves using collaborative law to help resolve any disputes and to come to an agreement without going to court. In a series of meetings, you, your ex and your lawyers (who need to be trained in collaborative law) will work together to negotiate a divorce agreement that meets the specific circumstances of your family. You agree upfront not to go to court. If the process later breaks down, you will each need to find a new lawyer, which means there is a strong incentive for everyone involved to work towards finding a solution.