Profile
Catherine Gale is the Director of Resolve Conflict, Lawyers and Mediators a boutique Melbourne Law Firm specialising in alternative dispute resolution in the Family Law environment.
Catherine graduated from the University of Melbourne Law School and is a Collaborative Family Lawyer, accredited Mediator and accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner. Catherine has 35 years experience helping family law clients reach mutually acceptable solutions.
In 2005 Catherine first became involved with the Law Council of Australia during her year as vice president of the Law Institute of Victoria. In 2006, as the Law Institute President, Catherine became a Director of the Law Council of Australia and her involvement has continued since that time until now when she will be the 2012 President of the Law Council of Australia.
Catherine is a graduate of the Australia Institute of Company Directors and has a strong interest in corporate governance. She is currently on the Board of The College of Law, The College of Law Victoria, The Australian Centre for Court and Justice System Innovation, The Law Institute of Victoria and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
For her work in leading the development in collaborative practice in Australia, Cathy chairs the Law Council of Australia’s National Collaborative Practice Committee and has recently been appointed as a sessional lecturer at Monash University in Collaborative Law in its Masters programme, Monash being the only University in Australia thus far to offer collaborative law as a subject.
Education: University of Melbourne, graduated in Law 1975
Admissions: Admitted to practice as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, March 1977
Committees and Affiliation
President, Law Council of Australia (LCA) 2012
Board Member, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner
Chair, LCA National Collaborative Practice Committee
Council Member, Law Institute of Victoria (LIV)
Executive Member, Collaborative Practice LIV
Member, Audit and Finance Committee, LIV
Member, Corporate Governance Committee, LIV
Member, Harmonisation of Laws Committee, LCA
Chair, Terrorism and Anti-Money Laundering Committee, LCA
Member, Equal Opportunity Briefing Policy Committee, LCA
Director, College of Law Victoria
Director, The College of Law
Sessional Lecturer, Monash University Law School in Collaborative Law
Law Institute of Victoria, Former President 2006
Author “Divorce – An Australian Women’s’ Guide” (1982)
Author “Divorce – An Australian Men’s’ Guide.” (1985)
Trainer for the LIV – Introductory Collaborative Law, for the Legal Profession
Member, Victorian Association for Dispute Resolution
History of Collaborative Law
Collaborative Law, which forms the basis of Catherine’s practice is modelled on tried and tested practices overseas. Collaborative law has been used successfully in America for almost 2 decades. It has been so successful that it spread rapidly across Canada and the UK. More recently it has been introduced to other parts of Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand.Catherine is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and annually attends a Forum where around 600 fellow practitioners from around the world meet to discuss best practice and exchange ideas and learning about the collaborative process.
