Family Law

Suzanne Kingston, Partner, Withers LLP, Family Law Practice Group
Jemma Thomas, PSL, Withers LLP, Family Law Practice Group

In the article entitled 'What is the Alternative?' Suzanne Kingston and Jemma Thomas from Withers explore the history of family law arbitration. They compare arbitration with the court process highlighting in particular current issues such as transparency explaining how arbitration can offer strict confidentiality for clients. In addition, they consider the more stringent approach to the production of documents for hearings with particular reference to the cases of Seagrove v Sullivan and J v J.

They explain the legal basis of family law arbitration and the view of the judiciary describing the President's judgment of S v S. There are a number of practitioners who may be concerned about the cost of arbitration, due to its bespoke nature, but they explain that it can be much cheaper and they provide their practical top tips. Finally, Suzanne and Jemma, explore the future of arbitration pointing out where the current IFLA Scheme may extend to other areas and consider the exciting prospect of using the New York Convention for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

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The full version of this article appears in the July 2015 issue of Family Law.

Online subscribers can access the full version of the article here.

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