Out of court dispute resolution: fit for purpose or time for a radical re-think?

Tristan Harvey QEB

2022 is a landmark year for the family justice system as the Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 comes into force. This article considers whether the options available to separating couples to resolve the financial and/or children arrangements reflect the more modern approach that the new Act brings or whether the time has come for a radical re-think. The article explores the out of court options that are available and some of the problems including the cost of training and an increasingly siloed approach to practice. In addition to reflecting on what changes may be made to improve the current provision for clients including a more modular approach to training and a move towards better inter-disciplinary working the article questions whether a fundamental re-think is needed. The received wisdom is that conflicts rules prevent those working within regulation to advise two clients together. But is that an unnecessarily narrow interpretation? Has the time come to acknowledge that traditional forms of practice often fail to meet the needs of clients and that there may be a better way?

Read the full article here.