Brisbane divorce lawyer Brett Hartley was recently interviewed for Brisbane Legal regarding the increase in popularity of mediation in Family Law.
THE popularity of mediation and out-of-court settlements for family law cases has surged over the last five years, according to a director at family law specialists Hartley Healy.
Brett Hartley says funding cuts to the family and federal circuit courts are pushing up processing times and encouraging Brisbane clients to avoid the courtroom.
“There has been a strong element of necessity to this recent growth, as funding cuts to the family and federal circuit courts – who deal with more than 80,000 family law matters nationally each year – has greatly increased the average time taken to make rulings,” he says.
“Some people have waited for up to two years just to go to trial, and three years for a final judgment.
“In many cases there just aren’t enough judges – the Brisbane federal circuit court, for example, has just 11 judges who oversee a very large case catchment.”
In 2014, family court chief justice Diana Bryant criticised the federal government’s $15 million cut to legal aid for disproportionately affecting family law.
However, Hartley says he also advocates for mediation because it can reduce the emotional impact of cases.
Read the full article on the Brisbane Legal website.
