A few months ago several leading family and divorce solicitors including James Pirrie and Bradley Williams of Family Law in Partnership, trained and qualified as the first intake of family law arbitrators in England and Wales.

Since then James Pirrie has conducted what is thought to be the first family arbitration in England and Wales.

Family Law in Partnership produced a booklet explaining the arbitration process.  You can read it here.

Arbitration has many advantages over conventional litigation a few of which are set out below.

It is possible to design specific rules for each case about what evidence is required and how disclosure will be implemented.

It is also possible to design timetables that suit the parties.  In conventional court based cases parties are often hostage to the court’s own diaries and the availability (or lack of availability) of suitable Judges who are able to hear the case.  This also results in different Judges being used for different stages in most cases.

Within arbitration the couple will, almost without exception, deal with the same arbitrator throughout the case.

Many will find the confidential elements of family arbitration to be attractive, particularly where privacy is required whether for social or commercial reasons.

Clients and their advisors are enquiring as to how arbitration will work in their situation and what the benefits for them could be.

Now that the first arbitration has taken place the take up is likely to escalate dramatically as users continue to experience frustration with court processes and delays.  It is thought that court time could become even more scarce as increasing numbers of people choose to represent themselves.

The ongoing pressure on the public sector, of which the courts are inevitably a part, will only increase availability frustrations.

Arbitration provides a binding settlement on the parties and is therefore useful for when they cannot reach an agreement between themselves.  It can be particularly suitable in situations where trust has broken down between a couple or where one, or both, parties want to take the opportunity to refer the resolution of their matters to an authoritative figure without incurring the costs, delays and possible public scrutiny of their case.

If you have not yet considered arbitration, or if it has not been offered to you by the professionals you are working with, then be sure to ask about it and how it might help you and your family to move forward.

Alternatively feel free to contact James Pirrie or Bradley Williams for further information on 020 7420 5000.