Endorsement of CL

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article686 6885.ece
Lord Kerr of the Supreme Court:
"In 2003, only four lawyers in England were offering the new out-of-court method, he said. Now the number had risen to 1408 in England and Wales and 100 in Northern Ireland - with a rise of 87 per cent in cases to an estimated several thousand a year.
Lord Kerr, a former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, added: "Perhaps the most inspiring statistic of all is that of the settlement rate of collaborative law cases - a remarkable 85 per cent."
Addressing leading family lawyers in London last night at an event to celebrate collaborative law, Lord Kerr added that the essence of the approach could be applied in commercial and other disputes.
"The essence, he added, was not victory by one side over the other or "the vindication of one viewpoint at the expense of an opponent's."
"Rather the fundamental purpose is to shape a solution to the problems experienced by the parties that not only resolves the immediate dispute, but which will endure to sustain a relationship after the parties have left the stage."
This goal was not just "an incidental side effect of civilised negotiations", he added. "It reflects its centrality to the entire process." ...................

"But in a warning note, Lord Kerr said that one danger was that its very success might act as a disincentive to the courts system to look at ways of improving its own procedures by adopting some of the best collaborative features.
"Put crudely and simply, if court procedures are deficient, should the answer be the espousal of a system entirely outside the courts?"
Or, he added, should the advantages of collaborative law "act as a spur" to adapting court procedures for those who have to resort to use them?"

For "Ancillary Relief" should the answer be the espousal of a system entirely outside the courts?

Collaborative Law Endorsed

James Stewart from Manches, who introduced Lord Kerr had some interesting things to say:

Launching the event, James Stewart, partner with Manches and driving force behind the London collaborative law group told the gathering that the important thing was that - mirroring the venue - it was "new, exciting, dispenses with formality and, more importantly, is beginning to change the dynamics of how family law is practised in this jurisdiction."

The key thing, he added, was that it was client-driven. A growing number of couples contemplating divorce expected or demanded an alternative to the adversarial system "which can often be costly, brutal and slow." The growth of collaborative law showed that "many clients and their lawyers are anxious to draw a line under the often destructive approach of the past."