Family law practitioners continue to make strides to find alternative methods of resolving family law issues and Moore Barlow remain at the forefront of that journey with our One couple one lawyer model, Accord.
It is a long-held belief amongst family law professionals that those who take control of their own separation and make the decisions about their outcomes, engage more fully in the process and take ownership of the result. Far better to reach a solution designed by you for you and your families particular needs and circumstances, than have someone else impose that upon your family unit, especially at a time when that unit may be fractured and under strain.
- You might also be interested in: Using the same lawyer to get divorced – your top questions answered
Accord vs mediation
The one couple, one lawyer model is distinguished from mediation in that one of our team of family lawyers can give the couple advice and direction. They can assist the couple jointly instruct an expert rather than having to do so via their separate lawyers.
Don’t get me wrong, mediation has its place and is a now the central tenet of dispute resolution, however we as a profession and at Moore Barlow are actively looking at ways to expand the services we can provide to suit every couple’s needs and wish to provide them with the best possibility of a postive outcome for them and their family. That has led us at Moore Barlow to provide a breadth of services to cater for all such needs.
The benefits of using the same lawyer during a separation
There has been a desire for a forum in which a couple can access cohesive legal advice together; a forum where securing legal advice does not create division or distance the parties as a by-product of the same, but builds on their common interest and intent and assists drive that through to a resolution.
Accord has the benefit of a rolling up a number of skills and traditional services into one process to offer the couple direct advice within joint meetings and the chance to explore together the consequences of that advice for them each. It has the benefit of leading to a quicker solution and therefore a more cost effective one. That is an increasingly important issue for couples when, even under one household, they are feeling the financial strain in the current climate.
The one couple, one lawyer process assists the couple to make an informed decision without each person deferring to the advice of another who is not part of the discussion nor has had the benefit of understanding the couple’s dynamic, which can only really achieved by working together with them as a couple.
Each time another person gets involved in the decision-making process, one faces the risk of another’s interpretation of the aims and needs of the couple which could, albeit unintentionally, negatively influence the outcome. The process of seeking separate representation gives rise to the possibility of even unconscious bias impacting the advice given to the couple as individuals.
Accord – One couple, one lawyer, one aim
Couples asked and we at Moore Barlow created Accord, a process where one lawyer can act for and support both clients and where we can offer under one umbrella all that is needed to achieve a settlement. That aim is underpinned by the prospect of additional support for each of the couple from separation and divorce coaches and counsellors, each who offer different assistance to the couple as individuals to keep them on track to achieve the joint desired goal at a time when emotions and tensions are running high.
Formerly a partner in the team, I can now offer such assistance as a separation and divorce coach. I have the benefit of a comprehensive understanding of how that support can be tailored to the specific needs and expectations of the process that client will be undertaking, having worked with the team in establishing Accord.
Jan Galloway, Consultant, Mediator
How Moore Barlow can help you
Relying on the therapeutic skills and experience such professionals can offer, couples now have a unique opportunity to progress through a separation and if necessary a divorce, with access to professional support for the whole person and human being and the couple as a unit.
What better prospect of a successful outcome can we offer clients than that! For more information, explore how we can help with your separation by using the same lawyer.
