Holmes Mackillop director urges Scotland to follow England’s lead on ‘one couple one lawyer’ approach

Holmes Mackillop director Karen Condie (pictured above) has marked Divorce Day by urging Scotland to follow England’s lead on a ‘one couple one lawyer’ approach to divorce.

While noting that Divorce Day (Monday, January 6th – the first Monday after January 1st, and reputedly the day when many couples file for divorce) is nothing to celebrate and nothing more than a term use by the media and an opportunity for lawyers to promote their services, Condie notes that lawyers always receive more divorce instructions immediately after a holiday period simply because everyone’s been on holiday and not working.

She said: “Divorce Day is not, as our American colleagues in particular may suggest, a calculated date to file for divorce because it won’t clash with school holidays or looming family occasions like Christmas itself.

Contacting a lawyer about a divorce is usually an emotional decision. You do it when you’re ready.”

Condie notes that, increasingly, with the amount of information available online, couples often wish to instruct the one lawyer. Their preference is to keep things amicable, and many believe they are quite capable of reaching a mutual agreement.

All they want is an explanation of the law to ensure their understanding is correct and an agreement drafted to make their settlement binding.

She said: “The last thing most clients want is conflict and people having to take sides, but in Scotland, with our conflict rules, a solicitor is required to take a side. We have to explain why we can’t act for both sides, which means referring to our conflict rules and then excluding one party from our meeting and emailing advice thereafter.”

Noting that Scotland led the way with its no-fault divorce, with the only requirement being for divorcing couples to have lived apart for the requisite period, Condie says that England took a long time to follow suit, but with its ‘one couple one lawyer’ approach, couples there can instruct the one lawyer, so long as no conflict of interest is identified.

She asks: “Why are we scared of this in Scotland? As solicitors we always need to be alert to the potential for conflict and we understand when we cannot act for parties where there is a conflict of interest.

We are capable of providing separating couples with non-biased guidance and helping formalise their divorce settlement while alert to this and should be introducing a one couple one lawyer approach here.”

She went onto say: “This will not suit everyone, but it would work for many couples and there is a clear demand. We are regularly asked to act for couples who want to reach a mutual and fair settlement without the costs of two lawyers and without having to exclude one party. We should follow England’s lead on this.”