My soon to be x has asked that I consider a appointment with a collaborative solicitor to try and settle out of court. He is very cross with me for setting court date timescale.(Even though divorce proceedings have been in place for past 20 months).

What should I expect at this meeting? and how can I prepare myself? Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi there

The idea of a collaborative lawyer is that you each have one and you attempt to settle matters through a series of round table meetings. However, if the process fails both lawyers have to withdraw, so you then need to find aother solicitor to proceed.

If you have already made an application you are better off sticking with the lawyer you have and trying to settle in the old fashioned way, although most solicitors will agree to a round table providing the parties are not miles along.

In your case diverting to collaborative law at this stage will simply cause delay and possibly a lot of frustration.

Amanda

Thank you for such a prompt answer. I suspected that it may be a delaying tactic by soon to be x as he is in no hurry to divorce ( even though he has moved on). I am keen to proceed and have a court date for the end of October, and I am very happy and have confidence with my solicitor.

I am willing to settle the old fashioned way. Thank you again

From my experience collabortive law is good on principal, but only works if both parties are equally committed. Solicitors tend to muddy the waters if they are not committed to the collaborative process. It can work, if you are both committed and you will get less aggro if the solicitors are left in the backround as advisors only,

Moderators Note - Collaborative lawyers are trained in the collaborative process, which is a specifc process of its own. This post does not reflect the nature of the collaborative process and is unhelpful.