Collaborative Attorney
What makes you a Collaborative Attorney?
Collaborative ONLY
I have chosen to dedicate my practice, and myself, to Collaborative Practice. I simply no longer do trials. I believe that if you have the desire to do so, then you and your spouse have the ability to work together to move from your "married" relationship to a "no-longer-married" relationship that supports each of you. AND any children you have.
You will never hear me say I can't meet with you because I'm "on trial" or "have a hearing" that day. I am dedicated to the sessions that will make this process work for you and your spouse's particular circumstances.
Focused on being only an attorney
As an attorney, I see my role as supporting you in your work in three ways:
* by making certain that you two have reached agreement on the legal questions each couple must address in order for a judge to dissolve the marriage;
* by making certain that you understand the consequences, real and as much of the possible as can be discerned, of your agreement; and
* by making certain that the necessary documentation is in place to put into effect the agreement you two reach.
Working as a team
As odd as it may sound, you and your spouse will be working as a team to create your no-longer-married lives. And you will be bringing me and another Collaborative attorney onto your team to support your efforts. And the added benefit of the Collaborative process is that you will be bringing in additional professionals to support you in their areas of expertise.
In general, I believe in the value of using appropriate professionals. If I'm building a house, I don't ask the landscaper to run my plumbing or set my electrical systems...just because s/he's there. The landscaper might be able to do something, but I want to have the job done well. Frequently when a job involves multiple skills it is done better - and it most often ends up being less expensive - when several people are used collectively, as a team, to each do what s/he does best.
I believe that I can better perform my role, when you and your spouse each work with a Coach to determine what you each want and how to come to an agreement that can work for each of you.
I also believe that it is invaluable that from the start we make use of a Financial Specialist as a neutral individual who can help us all to see what particular possible agreements will look like financially in terms of achieving what each of want going forward.
And finally, I believe that if you have children, you may want to consider involving a neutral Child Specialist to gain insight and information on the impact of various decisions on your children.
More teammates, each doing his/her best, I believe, yields better results at a lesser cost overall.
Focus is on YOU
I believe in The Law. And I also believe that no Law can determine what is right for you.
There are certain requirements that every couple must address before a court will dissolve their marriage. And there are some guidelines that limit what a judge could do if you end up making him/her make the decisions. We certainly won't ignore those things.
I always believe in discussing them in the context of first determining what would work for you two. What agreement meets your needs. From there, we can discuss legal guidelines. But my belief is that if you have fully addressed what you need to go forward in life, then you will find any "guidelines" much less interesting. And, more importantly, less likely to disrupt what you have agreed meets your needs.
The Collaborative process is not about getting "more" or getting what your neighbor got or getting what the state of Illinois wants in order to make sure that it doesn't have to pay for either of you. The Collaborative process is about supporting you in determining what you each will need going forward. And in working with you and your soon-to-be-ex to do the best that can be done with what you have from the marriage to meet those needs.
You may be wondering... Isn't this all going to cost a lot?
In fact it is likely to cost less than a court battle and yield more satisfying results.
M.A., J.D., L.P.C.
Call me at
773-292-3456
or email me