Collaborative Family Law

Collaborative Family Law is a new approach to resolving Family Law disputes. Rather than having both sides hire lawyers to do battle in court, each side hires a lawyer on the understanding that the goal is to work out a solution that everyone can live with without involving the courts.

All parties and their lawyers must agree from the beginning that nobody will take the case to court and there will be no threats of taking the case to court. The lawyers are involved only as much as they need to be to make sure that everyone understands what their rights are, what exactly is being agreed upon, and to make sure that there are no gaps or misunderstandings in any negotiated solution. It is up to the clients to negotiate a solution.

The lawyers must also agree that if negotiations break down and the matter has to go to court none of the lawyers will represent the clients -- everyone will have to get new lawyers.

When it works, the Collaborative Family Law approach can lead to a faster and less expensive resolution to family law matters.