A new way of resolving some legal disputes is likely to overtake the traditional court-based system within a decade, a conference has been told.
The new system would apply to legal disputes in family law and commercial and employment cases.
President Mary McAleese opened a conference in Cork today which was told that collaborative law is likely to overtake the adversarial system as the principal method of resolving many types of legal disputes here within 10 years.
Collaborative law aims to resolve disputes through negotiation, with lawyers for both sides acting as one team.
Advocates say it is cheaper, quicker and delivers better results.
The system is already being used successfully in Ireland and has even been applied to family law cases where communication between the estranged couple has broken down.
Collaborative law is the fastest-growing legal specialisation in the world and it is catching on quickly here with 200 to 300 solicitors being trained in the process in Ireland every year.
