NICK Bell, head of the family department at Winchester solicitors, Shentons, has qualified through Resolution - formerly the Solicitors' Family Law Association - to practise Collaborative Family Law.
The system, which is relatively new in the UK, has been widely used in Canada and the United States for some time.
It is designed to ensure that the couple's differences are kept out of court.
It differs from mediation in that each party takes their own lawyer to a series of round-table meetings.
While supporting the client, the lawyer is also trained to take an overview and resolve differences for the benefit of the family as a whole.
"The new system has proved itself in other jurisdictions to achieve speedier, cheaper and less costly results than one which is traditionally court-based," said Mr Bell, who is believed to be one of the first collaborative lawyers in Hampshire.
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