At Lynch and Partners we recognise that following a marital breakup legal proceedings take an immense toll. Time, emotions and financial resources are often sacrificed. We always attempt to find a less adversarial, more solution-oriented alternative to family breakups. The Family Law team at Lynch and Partners has been involved in ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) since its introduction in Ireland and has been involved in private client cases involving mediation, collaborative law and structured family law negotiations.

We employ a number of approaches:

Structured Negotiation

The traditional method used to negotiate Family Law Disputes is by way of negotiation between the parties resulting in a Separation Agreement or when Proceedings are issued negotiation again between the parties and their Solicitors resulting in a settlement of the case and that settlement been made an order of the courts.

Collaborative law may not always be suitable for all clients and other models of alternative dispute resolution may be more suitable for particular cases. One of the criticisms made of the family law system is that there is no system or process for trying to negotiate solutions to problems other than in the context of court proceedings. At Lynch and Partners we recognise this and we offer structured negotiations as an option for our Clients.

What the structured negotiation process seeks to do is to establish ground rules for negotiation to enable parties to be clear about what they can expect from the process and also what is expected of them. It differs from collaborative law / practice in that the lawyer doesn’t make a commitment not to go court on behalf of the client and also the four way meetings that are an intrinsic part of the collaborative process are an optional part of the structured negotiation process. 

Structured Negotiation is very similar to the collaborative law model without the need to agree to discharge our services to our client in the event that negotiations break down and we have to resort to litigation.

Mediation

Mediation is a process in which an impartial and independent third party facilitates communication and negotiation and promotes voluntary decision making by the parties to a dispute to assist them to reach a mutually acceptable solution. At Lynch and Partners we offer an in house mediation service. John M. Lynch was admitted in 2008 as an Accredited Mediator by the Institute of Arbitrators following MATA training.

Collaborative Law

Both John M. Lynch and Gillian O’Mahony are trained collaborative lawyers.

Collaborative law first began in the United States as a response to the spiraling cost of separation and the realization that although a win in the courts has been obtained, the penalty of a family that is torn apart by the system of adversarial litigation is too high a price for the participants to bear.  Collaborative Law was first introduced to Ireland in 2004.

With Collaborative Law both parties to the dispute retain separate specifically trained solicitors whose only task is to help the parties with the disagreements that they have. Each of the separating parties must have a solicitor who is committed to the ideals of collaborative law. The separating parties are at the centre of the process and actively involved in the negotiating process which is an empowering process. It differs from mediation in that each of the parties is represented by their lawyer.

Negotiations take place in a number of four way settlement meetings that are attended by both clients and solicitors. The number of meetings required differs with each couple, depending on the complexity of the issues involved. The agenda for each meeting is agreed between the clients and solicitors beforehand. The purpose of the four way settlement meeting is to reach a settlement, which is negotiated by both clients directly, with the legal advice provided by the solicitors, if needed. Each solicitor is there to ensure that their clients are guided towards a reasonable resolution.

The role of the collaborative lawyer is to ensure that the process is a fair one, that the negotiations are conducted in a non contentious environment and that full financial disclosure has been made by both parties and that any additional expert opinion that is required in relation to financial issues can be agreed and shared between the parties. If a financial, medical or other expert is required, then one expert is retained to advise both parties, as opposed to the traditional litigation approach of retaining separate experts to advise each client.

The aim of collaborative law is that as amicable a solution as possible is sought thus minimizing the contentious issues, and reducing the legal expense and court time.

All parties in a collaborative Law case undertake to be absolutely truthful with each other in relation to the financial issues.

Once the issues have been settled and both clients have reached agreement as to the terms of the divorce/separation or other agreement reached, then the solicitors prepare and process all the papers required to obtain a Court Order on consent.

In the event that the collaborative law process aborts because of perhaps a lack of trust or because the parties are unable to reach agreement neither Solicitor can continue to act for their client in any future contentious litigation between the parties. This is enshrined in the collaborative law process signed by the parties and their respective Solicitors.