About Us
Our mission: To minimize conflict, maximize ongoing relationships and facilitate effective communication of parties in litigation and families in transition by encouraging participation in and the promotion of the collaborative process.
Collaborative Law is a process where the parties and both their attorneys agree to resolve all issues in their case without involving the court. The team members work together, in private, to find a way to meet each individual’s needs so that the parties may make a smooth transition from being in a dispute to the remainder of their relationship, i.e. from being married to being single; from being heirs to being family; from being at odds regarding a business dispute to business as usual; from being a victim of workplace hostility to being a productive employee.
Although locally, collaborative law is used primarily in family law situations, the collaborative process is applicable to many other areas of the law wherein the parties wish to maintain an ongoing relationship. Such areas include, but are not limited to: business disputes, contract negotiations, education, employment, guardianships, and probate matters.
The Collaborative Law process is summed up as follows:
- the clients’ needs, interests and issues are established;
- rules, agendas and time lines are set;
- all relevant information and documents are identified and exchanged;
- possible solutions to the issues are explored;
- clients are educated as to the legality of both sides of the issues, the settlement possibilities, the consequences of same to each party, and the needs and interests of each of the parties;
- the Team helps the parties develop settlement proposals built on addressing the needs and goals of the parties; and
- finally, the team helps the parties negotiate their settlement proposals based on a commitment to an outcome that is mutually acceptable and mutually beneficial to each party and their ongoing relationships.