Mediation and Collaborative Law

Mediation

This is a process to help divorcing or separating couples talk things through. Mediators are trained to help you reach an agreement about how to make the best arrangements for the future. This may be about the way the children are cared for, or how finances will be organised. Talking face to face when a relationship breaks down can be daunting but the mediator will help you to start to communicate and focus on what really matters. Mediators provide impartial guidance to help you understand what matters to you. Our mediators have been trained by Resolution and have been accredited by the Family Mediation Council. They are also qualified practicing solicitors with a thorough legal knowledge to complement their mediation skills. They can therefore guide you ‘in the shadow of the law’.

Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs)

We are also able to conduct Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings.  We can meet with you and your partner together at a joint meeting, or individually.  Joint meetings would involve spending 10-15 minutes with each person separately at the beginning of the meeting.  The fee for a meeting will be £150 plus VAT for an individual meeting and £225 plus VAT for a joint meeting.  A meeting would usually last up to one hour.

Collaborative Law

This approach allows a couple to work with specially trained collaborative lawyers in a series of face to face, four way meetings. A couple can decide their own agenda, feel in control of the process and have a direct hand in negotiating an outcome with which they feel comfortable. The couple and their lawyers enter into an agreement which disqualifies the collaborative lawyers from representing them in court if the process is unsuccessful. If court proceedings are issued the couple must be represented by new lawyers. This ensures that those involved in the collaborative process have an equal stake in resolving the couples’ issues. Our collaborative lawyers have also been trained by Resolution.