In 2008 we launched a new family law business specialising in and focussing on out of court solutions, called Consensus Family Lawyers.  Consensus was well received by our clients and our referrers and the practice moved well into emerging and modern areas of family law including negotiating and drafting complex agreements and collaborative divorce. Meanwhile, Farrar Gesini & Dunn remained successful with a focus on client-focussed family law litigation.  The service we offer is to give our clients certainty about fees and clear and realistic advice about the process and the likely outcome.  If we can manage expectations in those fields, then our clients are better equipped to deal with the inherent delay, cost, and emotional toll of litigation. What we found, when reviewing the differences between the two practices, is that our lawyers at Consensus wanted more exposure to litigation and our lawyers at Farrar Gesini & Dunn wanted…

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Believe it or not, not all difficult divorces need to end up in Court. Over the last several years, the Family Law community in Australia has been introduced to a practice known as Collaboration. Collaboration is a process available to resolve family law matters and keep parties out of Court. Each client is represented by his or her lawyer through a series of meetings. It also allows the parties to structure more creative solutions which go beyond the scope of the Court. All information and advice is given openly in the round table meetings. This process also helps to address any power imbalance between the parties, so that one party is not bullied into a settlement. What makes Collaboration unique from other methods of dispute resolution is the contract that is signed by each of the parties and their lawyers, committing not to go to Court. If the matter doesn’t…

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