Collaborative Law
From a Guilford County Child Custody Attorney
What Drew Me to Collaborative Law:
As a family law attorney in Greensboro, I have noticed the world of family law can be an extremely adversarial place. I always tell my clients that I understand I am meeting them at extremely low points in their lives and I want to ease their burden the best I can. Often, the already sad situation, whether it be a divorce or custody litigation, is made worse by all parties “warring.” Attorneys can often misuse zealous advocacy as an excuse to be pushy and uncooperative. I found myself constantly wondering if there was a different, better, way to handle my family law cases than fighting blow for blow in a courtroom. That’s when I discovered collaborative law. Don’t get me wrong, I still think there are cases that would be best handled in court and I am always perfecting my litigation skills to be able to be the best advocate I can be during trial. But commonly clients will tell me they want to settle their matter and go their separate ways. I want to be able to help them achieve those goals.
What Is Collaborative Law:
Collaborative law is a process of law whereby everyone involved signs an agreement acknowledging certain factors. One of those factors is that the attorneys involved with the collaborative process will not be taking the case to court. If the case is unable to come to a conclusion, both attorneys will withdraw before it goes to court. Another agreement is to be transparent. Collaborative law is a series of meetings where the clients and their attorneys are all in the same room. These meetings encourage a free flow of information and the chance to ask the “why” on certain requests. The idea is to explain openly and honestly about why a person is asking what they are asking for to see if it would help the other person understand. One of my favorite things about collaborative law is that it keeps people’s personal business private. Any divorce or custody proceeding filed with the court is available to the public online. Collaborative law erases the need to file and helps parties maintain privacy. Each meeting in collaborative law has a different purpose, all with the goal of getting the parties to where they need to be. Meetings will identify goals, reasons for the goals, and possible compromises. It is interest-based negotiation, rather than position based negotiation.
And Why Collaborative Law May Be Right for You:
If preserving a positive relationship with the other person in your family law matter is important to you, collaborative law may be the best way to achieve that. If privacy is key, collaborative law can honor that. If sitting around a round table and being able to work the problems out through honest communication is what you want, collaborative law operates like that. Neither obtaining a divorce, nor proceeding with child custody, has to be adversarial. If you are looking for an alternative to dividing the pieces of life that mean the most to you inside a courtroom in front of a judge, collaborative law is the way to do that.
Reach Out to Our North Carolina Attorneys
Hiring an experienced lawyer is essential to help ensure a smoother legal process.
If you would like to learn about the collaborative law process in various counties across North Carolina, including Guilford, Durham, Chatham, Alamance, Davidson, Franklin, Forsyth, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Wake, and others, the Law Office of Stephen E. Robertson is here to help.
Contact us today at 336-370-6760 to schedule a consultation for your case.