While divorce proceedings can often feel like one person pitted against another, Willans LLP solicitors in Cheltenham offers separating couples a more collaborative approach.
Family law expert, Sharon Giles, sits down with SoGlos to explain what Resolution Together divorce proceedings are – and why they're an excellent alternative for couples willing to work together.
What is Resolution Together and how does it differ from a traditional divorce?
It's a service the general public has been calling for, particularly since the introduction of ‘no-fault divorce’ a few years ago.
There are lots of couples out there getting divorced who want to avoid conflict, not least for the benefit of any children. With the traditional model, where they start the process by instructing a lawyer each, it already feels adversarial.
This new approach allows one lawyer to see the couple together and give them joint advice. They hear the same advice that they'd each hear individually, but in this process, they also get to hear each other's advice, so it's a very open and transparent way for couples to receive the information needed for them to reach informed decisions.
What is the difference between Resolution Together and mediation?
When you've got a lawyer each, it can be tempting to hide behind them and not really deal with difficult issues. When you're in the room together, as long as you've got professional support, you can progress those discussions and be frank about everything.
While a mediator will facilitate discussions, a mediator cannot give legal advice. The main difference between mediation and Resolution Together is that the jointly instructed lawyer can host a meeting to facilitate discussions, as well as provide legal advice, without having to press pause and send clients off to their respective lawyers or legal advisors to seek legal advice before proceeding.
Not all these kinds of discussions go smoothly. If a sticking point is reached, the jointly instructed lawyer can advise one or both of the parties to go off and get advice of their own, then come back to the joint process if they wish – or, where a sticking point is non-legal, instruct a third party to deliver professional advice on a particular issue and bring that to the table, whether that be financial advice, specialist advice regarding children, anything that's needed to move the discussions forward.
It's a very flexible process, provided there's nothing that feels too contentious.
When is Resolution Together appropriate – and is there a screening process?
Careful screening is what Resolution Together training really focuses on, so lawyers are able to filter out the cases that are suitable from the ones which aren't.
Front-loaded discussions and introductory meetings take place with the couple together and individually to ensure this single lawyer approach is suitable for them.
We will have made sure there's no history of domestic abuse, and that neither party is feeling intimidated or threatened by the other, which would render this approach unsuitable.
When they are in the room together, we would ask how they normally communicate and whether there are any sticking points they anticipate, looking out for any signs of conflict. Resolution Together lawyers are specially trained to spot weaknesses such as inequalities in bargaining, power or potential for conflict which may not be evident to the parties themselves.
If a couple does engage the lawyer in the Resolution Together process, there is a supplementary contract which fully explains what it means and the behaviours that are expected from both parties, and the lawyer instructed, to make the process work effectively for everyone.
What are the benefits of a Resolution Together approach, compared with a traditional divorce?
All discussions take place over a series of meetings with everyone in the room together. Questions can be answered immediately, so it stops that need for letters flying to and fro, where misunderstandings can arise.
It can be cost-effective and efficient, because you're dealing with everything in one go – and clients feel like they've got more control over the process.
It can also be quicker, because the timetable is absolutely down to the clients and with just one legal professional involved, it can be easier to fix dates in everyone's diaries.
We can move towards constructive settlement discussions as quickly as the couple would like, providing they have prepared all the financial disclosure material that we would need to see, so we've all got a good idea of the financial landscape to be negotiated on.
What happens in the event of a disagreement during the Resolution Together process?
The Resolution Together approach helps clients get to solutions, but if disagreements occur that the lawyer feels unable to address alone, another lawyer can be brought in to level up the negotiation.
And if a couple starts on this process and finds it's not working for them, their lawyer can recommend a more suitable model to try.
You actively promote a conciliatory approach to family law. Why is this important to you as a legal professional?
I, and lots of professionals like me, share the view that it's much better to have a well-managed, conciliatory divorce for a long-term resolution – and most family lawyers promote this constructive approach to family law disputes.
It's easy to forget that once these clients go through this process, they've got the rest of their lives to live and especially if they've got children, there are going to be future events like weddings, graduation ceremonies and family parties.
The way the couple deal with their divorce sets the path for the way they treat each other for the rest of their lives. A contentious or high-conflict divorce is not only damaging for them and their family at the time of the event, it's damaging long-term.
Court proceedings should be a last resort – and we do often need that, because only a judge at court can make people do things that they don't want to do, or make decisions in cases where one or both parties can't – but it's a very stressful and expensive process for everyone involved.
Being able to sit down around a table and hear the same advice over a cup of tea and a biscuit is a much better experience for everyone.
What has the experience of Resolution Together been like for couples you've worked with?
So far, the clients I have worked with have been so thankful at the end of the process that it hasn't been the bitter battle that they had expected it might be.
They've been so pleased to have been able to have the safe space needed for open and honest talks, to make informed decisions about the outcome without feeling combative, which is how clients do feel when appointing a lawyer each.
Is Resolution Together widely available in Gloucestershire?
It's becoming increasingly popular in the region – and three members of Willans’ family law team are now trained in the Resolution Together model.
It's not an option that will be appropriate for everyone, but we are pleased to have this non-court dispute resolution offering in our toolkit for divorcing couples to consider.
What are the benefits of coming to Willans for a Resolution Together divorce?
Willans can offer a full and comprehensive service by bringing in lawyers from other teams if needed.
We can offer a joint instructed one-stop-shop, from the divorce itself, to transferring or selling property, helping both parties with their onwards purchase – and we can deal with both of their wills.
We can also help with more complicated structures, such as splitting or dissolving a business, by offering some in-house advice on how best to manage that.
We can really help to give couples the information that they need to make the best decision.
Even if the divorcing couple has a lawyer each, our focus is primarily on non-court dispute resolution methods and we facilitate many roundtable meetings here at Willans. By allowing the couple to see each other's lawyer, it breaks down that barrier of suspicion.
I think it really helps for clients to see that lawyers are here to help and support them in their discussions, rather than the common perception that if you're instructing a lawyer, you're preparing for war.
When you're acting for the parties together, them being able to see that you're looking out for both of them is a comfort. I think clients really like that aspect of our particular approach.
See Willans' complete guide to 'one lawyer, two client' divorce – and find out how to contact Sharon directly – at willans.co.uk/knowledge/one-lawyer-two-client-divorce.
