Separation and divorce are often one of the most
difficult and traumatic times in a person's life. The
legal aspects of separation and divorce can easily
worsen this trauma, because the legal system is, by its
nature, adversarial. Within this environment, conflict
almost inevitably escalates.
Attorney
Angela Haas and
The Carolina Collaborative Law Group practices law
outside of the adversarial system and away from the
environment that fosters conflict, so that the
important and life-determining issues in divorce are
resolved in a healthier more satisfactory way.
Read
Angela's article on Collaborative Law.
We provide a support system of collaborative lawyers
and other professionals in-house, including
psychologists, mediators, arbitrators and accountants.
Families and individuals are empowered to resolve in
positive ways even the most difficult disputes in even
the worst of circumstances. The result is good
solutions that lead to healthier families and
relationships after divorce.
THE
GOALS OF COLLABORATIVE LAW
To
equip and empower our clients to make better decisions
for themselves and their families during the difficult
process of divorce.
To
help the parties communicate calmly with each other
and express needs, interests and emotions
appropriately.
To
ask questions, help the parties hear each other, and
offer creative and workable alternatives.
To
provide a safe place and organized framework for the
parties to discuss each issue and reach agreement.
To
prepare and file all written paperwork for the court.
THE
PRINCIPLES OF COLLABORATIVE LAW
No
Court Intervention
Issues are resolved without court intervention. The
parties voluntarily share all information.
Experts
and Consultants
Consultants are retained jointly to provide unbiased
opinions. All attorneys, therapists, accountants,
appraisers and consultants cooperate with one another
while assisting the parties to resolve issues.
Children's
Issues
When disputes involve children, the parties, their
attorneys and therapists commit to reaching amicable
solutions that promote the children's best interests
and that promote a caring, loving and involved
relationship between the children and both parents..
Negotiation
in Good Faith
Each spouse retains his or her own attorney who
understands the process, even with full and honest
disclosure, will involve vigorous good faith
negotiation on behalf of the client.
Commitment
to the Process
The parties agree the representation is limited to the
Collaborative Law process and that neither attorney
may represent them in any court proceeding against the
other party.
THE
ECONOMICS OF COLLABORATIVE LAW
Most
legal disputes, even in family matters, end in a
settlement between the parties. But typically, its
only after a lawsuit is filed that the process of
negotiating a settlement begins in earnest, And often
it is many months or even years before settlement
discussions get serious and lead to an agreed
resolution. In the meantime, all the fees and costs of
going to court and preparing for a trial have to be
paid.
Since most lawsuits settle, it makes sense to spend
money on a less expensive settlement process than on a
very expensive court process. Collaborative law takes
the common-sense approach of committing to a
settlement process before a lawsuit is filed
With the collaborative approach, attorney time is much
reduced because adversarial pleadings, motions,
depositions, and court hearings are eliminated. Also,
since the parties agree to the open exchange of
information, the expensive process of pre-trial
discovery is eliminated. Finally, experts and
consultants are retained jointly, so duplicative,
repetitive, and adversarial expert opinions are
eliminated. All of this makes the collaborative
settlement process substantially less expensive than
going to court.
|
1.jpg){kind=small}
