At the beginning of a divorce, experienced divorce lawyers typically have a sense of how a judge in their county is likely to rule when the case gets to trial some 12-24 months later.
Collaborative law practitioners meet and hammer out a mutual understanding of what they believe the court will do and guide the parties toward a negotiated resolution that matches the anticiated court result.
This clears the way for the parties to reach a settlement in 3-4 months instead of having to wait for the case to run its course.
You may ask, "If it's so easy, why doesn't everyone get divorced this way?" The answer is tis due in part to the unique negotiation training that collaborative lawyers receive, and because not everyone is capable of comprehending their spouse's position.
Collaborative divorce law practitioners slowly and methodically educate the parties as to the law and to both sides of the issue. When reasonable people are treated with understanding and respect, they become flexible and inclined to alter their settlement position to conforms to the legal standard that applies in their case.
The competitive nature of our non-collaborative, traditional divorce system, in contrast, encourages the spouses to perceive the law, the facts, and the outcome of their case differently. This approach breeds the hostility, frustration, delays, and expense that the public is fed up with.
