Litigation
In some cases, litigation is necessary. It may be the only means for protecting you or your children's important rights and interests, or for obtaining closure in a difficult situation; you may be presented with a situation where one party refuses to compromise, expresses hostility toward the you, or good faith efforts at settlement negotiations have failed. In such cases, litigation may be the only option. Our firm philosophy is to utilize litigation, only when necessary. Should litigation be your only option, you can feel confident that we will advocate strenuously on your behalf, with the experience and compassion your case requires
Mediation
For couples involved in a family law dispute, mediation allows the parties to come to an agreement on their own terms. When children are involved, mediation can be particular helpful in helping to establish or maintain a peaceful co-parenting relationship moving forward into the futue. During mediation, Heather works with both partiesand their individual attorneys to find a mutually acceptable resolution to their family law concerns, such as property division, child custody, time-sharing and support issues.
While mediation isn't right for every case, it has many benefits, including:
- It is often much less expensive than litigation.
- It allows parties to take control of their personal matters and the outcome.
- It encourages cooperation, which can increase the chances that each party will remain committed to the outcome for the long term.
- Parties can can craft personalize agreements with terms that might not be available in a litigation process.
- issues of substance abuse or domestic violence.
Collaborative Practice
Many couples find the no-court process known as Collaborative Practice (Collaborative Law/Collaborative Divorce) a welcome alternative to the often destructive, uncomfortable aspects of conventional divorce.
Collaborative Practice is a voluntary dispute resolution process in which parties resolve the issues presented in their case, without resort to litigation. It is very similar to mediation, except that each party retains an attorney of their choosing to represent and support them during the process. Additionally, Collaborative Practice resolution allows you the benefit of access to child and financial specialists, divorce coaches and other professionals all working together on your team. The parties mutually-agree to refrain from resolving their family law issue through litigation, and support this choice by an agreement which prevents attorneys and any other professional member of the parties' Collaborative Practice team from participating in litigation with them.
Collaborative Practice is likely to be a workable option, if you:
- Want to maintain the tone of respect, even when you disagree with your spouse.
- Want to prioritize the needs of your children.
- Understand that your needs and those of your spouse require consideration, and you can use good faith to listen objectively.
- Believe in working creatively and cooperatively to solve issues.
- Believe it is important to reach beyond your present frustration and pain to plan for the future.
- Can behave ethically toward your spouse, and believe your spouse is able to do the same with regard to you.
- Want to maintain control of the divorce process with your spouse, and not relegate it to the courts.
