is a new and exciting form of alternative dispute resolution. Collaborative practice brings an option to provide a "Respectful Divorce".  

In the collaborative process the parties and their lawyers sign an agreement that they will not go to court.  Armed with that knowledge you and your spouse have the best of both worlds because not only is your lawyer actively involved, he or she is using their collaborative training to consciously work towards an out of court settlement - the lawyers performance may be measured, if the process fails then the lawyers have failed and they can no longer act for the parties.

Randal Binnie has completed specialist training in collaborative practice in Melbourne and is a member of the Queensland Collaborative Law Group and also the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.  Randal is one of the few trained professionals in collaborative practice in Queensland and has taken the opportunity to expand the alternative dispute resolution options available to our clients.  Randal is committed to the collaborative family law process and is actively promoting Collaborative Family Law both to the public and legal professionals.  Randal participated in the first collaborative law matter in Queensland.

"During my fifteen years in family law I have seen the results of litigation in the Courts in family law matters - destruction of relationships between parties themselves, the parties and their children, and even their wider family groups (grandparents, uncles, aunties).  I have always tried to guide my clients down the alternative dispute resolution path where possible.  Until recently this has been limited to mediation but I am excited about the prospect of helping my clients and their spouses and partners achieve a "good divorce", to reach an outcome they themselves have created through the Collaborative process."

"The process is new to Australia but is not new to the USA and Canada and I have every confidence it will flourish in Queensland."

Interested? Contact us for a consultation to allow us to assess your particular circumstances as not all matters are suitable.

Is this process suitable for you?  See what the International Academy of Collaborative Practice has to say:  International Academy of Collaborative Practice

• Find out what participants in Collaborative Family Law in the USA have to say about the process... click here   
• A recent press release from our firm... click here
• Newsletter Sept 2006:  The Collaborative Law Perspective... click here 
• Link to ABC Online PM story - Collaborative Law given thumbs up... click here

Download a knowledge kit provided by the International Academy of Collaborative Practice  click here

Collaborative Practice in the News
(Brought to you by IACP Collaborative Connection)

Juno (12A)
Belfast Telegraph - United Kingdom
She finds the model, childless couple, or so it seems, until they decide to go in for the very latest thing, something called a "collaborative divorce. ...

Divorce doesn't have to be winner-take-all
Fort Worth Star Telegram - Fort Worth,TX,USA
A growing option The collaborative law process is starting to make inroads, said Scott Clarke, a divorce financial analyst in Bedford who often works in ...

A KINDER, GENTLER APPROACH TO DIVORCE
Fort Worth Star Telegram - Fort Worth,TX,USA
The collaborative law process is starting to make inroads, said Scott Clarke, a divorce financial analyst in Bedford who often works in collaborative law ...

My dream divorce
Ottawa Citizen - Ontario, Canada
Other times they work through Collaborative Family Law, a rapidly expanding program in family law practice introduced to Ottawa in 2002 that neither bleeds ...

Court system strives to smooth divorce proceedings
Chambersburg Public Opinion - Chambersburg,PA,USA
In collaborative law, both parties to the divorce and their attorneys agree to make a good-faith effort to reach a settlement without going to court. ...

Legal head-to-heads 'only hurt the clients'
Irish Independent - Dublin,Ireland
"Collaborative Family Law is faster and less acrimonious than court proceedings . . . and it is likely to be far less stressful," said Mrs McGuinness, ...

Property and divorce: How to avoid the War of the Roses
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
A new practice aims to make divorce less acrimonious when it comes to splitting the family home. William Little reports The protracted McCartney divorce ...

Splitting up without going broke
NEWS.com.au - Australia
Collaborative law is where people agree to resolve their problems outside the legal system.'' An exception to this would be where there are domestic ...

More Couples Turning To Collaborative Divorces
KDKA - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
The process, which is traditionally litigated in a courtroom, can now be less hostile thanks to a collaborative divorce. "We like to say it's divorce with ...

You will find a wealth of information on both of the following sites: