Collaborative Divorce Lawyers
“Collaborative law is on the cutting edge of alternative dispute techniques of divorce resolution that is the subject of high client demand but low attorney participation.” M. Douglas Berry
The win-lose model of the adversarial legal system will produce a “result” or an “answer” to disputed issues, but it often creates financial and emotional havoc in the process. Many divorce litigants will jump into a court fight eager to get their licks in on the tar baby of litigation only to find themselves caught in the system and unable to get out before their finances have been exhausted, their relationships shattered and their well-being laid to the curb. Collaborative law offers a common-sense, constructive alternative and only requires two rational participants who recognize that they have fundamental differences but share a commitment to resolve their differences, and two trained collaborative law attorneys who are well-versed in the mechanics of collaborative law and adhere to the underlying philosophy of a collaborative resolution as opposed to litigation.
Collaborative law involves the process where specially trained divorce attorneys work with clients who are both committed to dealing with the financial, emotional and legal aspects of separation, divorce and co-parenting in a constructive way.
Collaborative law is based on certain philosophical premises including:
- Recognition of the need to resolve disputes in a rational manner
- Respecting the needs of all of the participants
- Empowering couples going through a divorce to resolve their own disputes without turning their decisions over to lawyers and an impartial third person
- Recognition that the legal arena establishes statutory law points of reference, but does not determine and limit the strategies that the parties can use to address their own needs and interests
- A frank sharing of the parties interests and needs maximizing the potential for reaching a settlement that satisfies these needs and interests.
The collaborative law commitment involves a commitment to a set of specific ground rules premised on the pledge that the parties will not take submit their issues to the “meat-grinder” known as litigation. These parties recognize that the collaborative law structure reaches settlement faster than other forms of negotiation in a much less traumatic fashion.
The chief goals of collaborative law are the following:
- Avoid litigation
- Minimize the conflict
- Creative problem-solving
- Preserve financial resources
Doing this with the guidance of competent, constructive legal counsel minimizes attorneys’ fees and expert witness fees.
Contact M. Douglas Berry of Gabriel Berry Weston & Wells LLP Today
Douglas serves clients throughout North Carolina including: High Point, Winston Salem, Burlington and Asheboro. Call 877-361-0529 or contact M. Douglas Berry online to schedule an initial consultation today.
