Private FDRs and Arbitration
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Private FDRs
The Financial Dispute Resolution (‘FDR’) appointment is designed to enable the parties, with the assistance of a judge, to identify and seek to resolve the issues in the case, at a time and in a manner intended to limit the overall financial cost for the parties, to reduce delay and to lessen the emotional and practical strain on the family of continuing litigation.
1 Hare Court has a number of leading barristers (both male and female, and many with judicial experience or experience as arbitrators) who can help the parties reach a non-court based settlement, by giving their opinion as to likely outcome on a neutral and impartial basis.
Due to the demands on court time and resources, with court lists and judges becoming busier, there has been a considerable rise in demand for our Private FDR judges. In large part, due to their ability to offer:
- the ability to choose the right judge for the case, on a date and at a location that suits the parties, who:
- will have taken the time to read all of the documents in the case (unlike many of the judges at court-listed FDRs, due to the fact that they may well have a number of other cases in front of them that require their attention);
- will provide an objective indication as to how the judge at Final Hearing is likely to approach and determine the case – an indication that can be respected by both parties, given 1 Hare Court’s status as the leading set of Chambers at the financial remedy bar;
- will ultimately assist the parties with reaching a sensible compromise so as to avoid the costs, stress and delay of having to go before a randomly selected judge (who may not even be a specialist in the area of law concerned) at court for a Final Hearing;
- a newly refurbished alternative dispute resolution suite, should the parties choose to have their Private FDR at 1 Hare Court, providing both parties with their own conference room, with a separate court room to hear from the judge, in a private and comfortable environment, with access to fast Wi-Fi, large screens for remote attendance, refreshments and generally first-rate facilities; and
- complete confidentiality.
A high number of cases settle at FDR and a Private FDR with 1 Hare Court offers the best possible opportunity to reach an agreement, away from the pressure of the public court building which can be crowded, cramped and not conducive to conciliation.
1 Hare Court is renowned as the brand leader in financial remedy law, with its current and previous members as highly respected as one can find. As such, the indication of the Private FDR Judge that may be selected will carry with it the weight of an informed, reasoned indication, based on years of experience dealing with similar cases, that can be respected by both sides – thereby increasing the prospects of settlement.
Arbitration
Our Private FDR and arbitration services dovetail well. If the Private FDR does not result in settlement, a discreet arbitration can be arranged with one of our arbitrators to provide a timely, cost-effective and well-reasoned judgment, that will bind the parties and be made into an order of the court.
We have the largest team of arbitrators at the Family Bar. All our arbitrators are members of CIArb and IFLA. They range from former judges to junior members of Chambers. We are at the forefront of family arbitration practice, having been involved in the two landmark cases, S v S and DB v DLJ.
1 Hare Court strongly supports wider diversity in the legal profession, both within the judiciary and Chambers. We are proud to boast that our female members are in as high demand as our male members and we will continue to do all that we can, generally, to improve diversity within Chambers.
Further to the work carried out by the group headed by Kate Landells, a partner in the divorce and family team at Withers, investigating the disparity between the use of male and female Private FDR judges, we support and adopt the ’Best Practice’ guidance that has been produced by the group and are proud to recommend the wide array of top-rated female Private FDR judges and arbitrators, whose biographies can be found here.
We are confident that the list of names will provide the best possible prospect of resolution at a Private FDR and, if required, a reliable arbitrator to determine any issues that are not capable of settlement.
