Divorce tougher in the North

COUPLES in Leeds are more likely to fight their divorce battles in court according to research released today,

Cities in the north take a tougher approach to the issue of separation according to a study carried out by national law firm Mills & Reeve.

Leeds is the most litigious city for divorce outside London whilst Cambridge is the least; according to new research issued today by national law firm Mills & Reeve.

The data, which looked at the differing approaches to divorce, was gathered from across the firm's office network in Birmingham. Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester and Norwich, compiled from more than 280 individual cases.

The research found that 46 per cent of divorce cases in Leeds involved litigation.

Litigation levels in Leeds and Manchester were followed by Birmingham, with 40 per cent of cases involving court hearings and 36 per cent in Norwich.

Cases in Cambridge were 46 per cent less likely to involve litigation in divorce than the survey average.

On a more positive note, 62 per cent of cases in Cambridge were resolved by correspondence between the divorcing parties or round table meetings – the highest percentage in the survey, although the overall number of cases using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to divide their assets remained low across all the offices surveyed.

Birmingham remained bottom of the table at 86 per cent below the survey average for ADR, followed by Leeds at 71 per cent and Norwich at 26 per cent below the average.

David Salter, partner and joint national head of family law said: “The survey was a fascinating way of looking at the trends developing in the divorce cases we see across our national network of offices. As divorce affects all aspects of life from family businesses to the custody of children and the division of personal assets, it is interesting to see how different regions deal with the impact of divorce and the methods taken to limit collateral damage.”