Lisa Green’s new book, On Your Case, is a great legal resource for women at all stages in life. Ms. Green is a lawyer and legal analyst who outlined various important issues in a woman’s life – relationships, parenting, employment, and aging – all from a legal perspective. She provides simple pieces of advice and more in-depth education on various matters that arise in life.
One of the best sections, outlines divorce options. When a couple decides to divorce, there are various processes to use to divide assets, work on support options and come up with co-parenting agreements. Ms. Green discusses both DIY (do it yourself) divorce, mediation and collaborative divorce as alternatives to a typical litigation.
Ms. Green provides a nice explanation of the benefits to collaborative divorce – it can be cheaper, less stressful and have less animosity than traditional court-based models. She correctly points out that the collaborative option may be hard to think about at the very onset of a separation – when emotions are hot and anger may cloud judgment. However, for couples who want to maintain control of the process and maintain respect throughout, collaborative law is a good option.
Two important observations in the book, however, are worth noting. Ms. Green identifies a significant power imbalance as a concerning factor to the collaborative process. It can make the process more challenging and the couple may need more support from a collaborative team. Secondly, Ms. Green notes that communication is key to the collaborative process. While litigators often tell clients not to talk to one another – so all communication goes through the lawyers – collaborative clients are expected to communicate and discuss all issues with their team and with each other.
Ms. Green’s book is a great resource for women on all legal issues. On divorce in particular, it has a lot of useful information to start the process and learn about considerations and options. If someone considering divorce wants to learn more about collaborative divorce, they should reach out to a collaborative professional to talk through the option.
If you are looking to lessen the emotional and financial strain that often accompanies transitions in your marriage and family such as divorce, separation or child custody disputes, consider collaborative law or mediation. These alternatives to traditional litigation are non-adversarial, cost-effective, client-controlled and seek to preserve the dignity and emotional well-being of all. My legal experience, financial certification, and training in relationships, problem-solving and negotiation help me represent and guide clients to arrive at the most agreeable resolutions for all, while respecting and honoring relationships.