Why Do We All Meet in the Same Room? Part 2 -- Benefits

We recently discussed why having Collaborative meetings works when all the parties are in the room sitting around a common table.  It's a safe, effective and well-managed process.

This is in contrast to the typical litigation scenario where the attorneys speak for the clients or ask questions in court and the Judge makes rulings which may or may not actually help the parties work through this difficult process.

If you choose Collaborative Law, you will have the meetings in the same room, but there are a number of benefits from meeting directly together. Here are some to consider.

1.  The direct contact improves communication.  It's not filtered or interpreted by having the attorneys speak for you or against you.  You can speak for yourself, with support from your attorney and the other professionals.

2.  Everyone feels safe.  We don't wander off topic or allow ambushes.  We plan an agenda and stay with it.  If someone starts feeling anxious or upset, the Mental Health Professional (MHP) can step in and restore order.

3.  Both parties get heard.  A frequent complaint about Court is that one or both parties don't really get to say what they want to say in Court.  In Collaborative, the parties are encouraged to speak up.

4.  Collaborative is an efficient process.  You can get immediate answers and you can continue a discussion as long as is needed and then move on. You can directly address issues and get resolution.

5.  The process becomes real for everyone.  Direct participation, discussion and the ability to make decisions and agreements is in sharp contrast to litigation. There, technical legal issues sometime take over and dominate discussions, instead of having humans thinking and acting cooperatively to find their own solutions. In Collaborative cases, the parties are in control of their own outcomes.

If you are facing a divorce and are deciding how to proceed, please talk with a trained Collaborative lawyer who is experienced with Collaborative cases.  You can find out if Collaborative would be right for your case.