'Divorce Without Pain ©' - up and running!

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Since starting the first 'case trial', our email box has told us that there has been a huge interest in 'Divorce Without Pain' from both potential clients and solicitors alike. In the early months we kept a strict limit on the cases that 'Divorce Without Pain' would accept; selected by apparent suitability, with fairly strict criteria being applied. So, again - a big public "sorry" to those potential clients who we had to turn away.

The experience to date has taken us to a new position of confidence in both the process and the business side of  the co-operative 'Divorce Without Pain'. As you will see from the blog entry "Five Months On", we experienced a constructive learning curve, with lots of success and no apparent problems. Outcomes have been consistently adjudged as 'excellent', and more important, so has been the individual client feedback.

The 'Divorce Without Pain' team have contacted all of the District Judges in the northern part of the North Eastern Circuit to inform them of our progress and to secure their continuing support. Many of you who practice in these courts will find that District Judges will be advising referral to organisations like 'Divorce Without Pain' as a preliminary step to avoid the stress, cost and delay of court proceedings.

Several family law solicitors have enquired as to their role in relation to the process. One regular question has been "Are we to be frozen out of family conflict resolution"?  The answer is simple - No!

Whilst direct contact with 'Divorce Without Pain' from clients without a solicitor is encouraged, we recognise that some husbands/wives/partners/fathers/mothers/grandparents feel more confident if they have had individual advice before entering any dispute resolution process. Of course, this is where you, as solicitors, come in, and we will recommend your individual practice. Additionally, as will be seen from the case studies, a number of parties attend with their solicitor. Clearly, the cost savings for clients are reduced this way, but parties often prefer to have the peace of mind of having a trained professional with expertise in the field to attend them at a meeting. Again, this will be a special role for you. Finally, there is nothing to stop you from joining us at the 'Divorce Without Pain' co-operative to provide this special and long overdue service. Contact me, Stephen Twist, or any other member of the team to discuss this if you are interested.

The landscape for resolution of family disputes is changing, and most would say changing for the better. For too long our clients have been subjected to enormous stress and cost of an adversarial system that painfully takes them through a drawn-out process in the courts. Judges (lead by Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division) agree that change is long overdue. Here at 'Divorce Without Pain' we are at the cutting edge of change, but taking it with care. Working collaboratively we can make a difference to the otherwise dreadful experience of separation - for spouses, partners, parents, grandparents and children.