By Ann M. Allenson*

One of the great things about the collaborative law process is the way that it can help clients maintain relationships. Throughout the process we help our clients by stressing dignity, respect and listening to the other side. This helps the parties become problem solvers that are working together to get through the process, rather than the traditional adversarial court-room experience. In this way our clients are better able to maintain relationships after the collaborative law process is over, which can have tremendously positive effects on quality of life for our clients, their children, and other people in their lives.

The family law process deals with deeply personal issues, perhaps nothing is more personal than marriages and children. Even though the parties may legally be separated after a divorce, their lives can, and often are, still intertwined. The collaborative law process helps clients foster a relationship of dignity and respect with each other by putting the parties in control of the process.

During a collaborative law proceeding both parties will work together, rather than against each other, to reach mutually beneficial solutions. A collaborative law attorney will help walk a client through this process, providing practical knowledge and candid advice. Understanding the law is only a small portion of the collaborative law process – empowering clients to make decisions and control their own destiny is truly what it is all about.

Through the development of practical skills and coalition building with the other party, collaborative law clients are able to ensure that the path they choose leaves them satisfied. Taking control of the process can help foster a lasting and amicable relationship into the future, and helps to create environments in which our clients are better able to succeed in the rest of their lives.

The collaborative law process not only helps clients resolve their legal issues now, it prepares them to move on and to be successful in the future. By taking control of their situations and working directly with each other, parties are able to reach a conclusion that is beneficial for them – and in this way parties are able to move forward quickly and effectively. The collaborative law process can help clients achieve better results in a shorter period of time and for less money than the traditional legal process.

*Ms. Allenson is a collaborative divorce attorney practicing at the Goldstein Law Office in Golden Valley, Minnesota.