The Rise of Non-Court Dispute Resolution

The traditional image of a divorce often involves a high-conflict courtroom battle, despite the family justice system in England and Wales actively shifting away from this adversarial model.

With family courts now facing severe delays and overwhelming backlogs, Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) has transformed from an alternative option into a primary legal requirement.

Recent updates to the Family Procedure Rules and the Merthyr Tydfil case have significantly raised the expectations, with mediation now to be considered at every stage, not just at the outset.

Courts now possess the authority to ‘pause’ litigation and financially penalise parties who unreasonably refuse to engage in any out-of-court processes. Couples are expected to explore methods like mediation, collaborative law and private arbitration before asking a judge to intervene. To support this transition, the government has introduced initiatives like the ‘mediation voucher scheme’ with the hope of offering practical financial assistance to families looking to settle disputes amicably.

From our experience and perspective at TFLP, choosing NCDR allows couples to retain some control over their own destiny and final arrangements, as well as their costs and own timeline.

Our directors at TFLP Ashley Palminteri, Elizabeth Bruce and Mark Sage are all collaboratively trained. As a firm we also have much experience with co-ordinating private FDR’s and Arbitration.