Family Law

The Most Effective Way to Reduce the Cost of Your Divorce or Civil Dispute

January 3, 2017 By CDSOC

by Brian Don Levy, Esq., Collaborative Attorney and Mediator

What single item can add the most cost to your divorce or civil dispute? Acting or reacting based on emotional thinking, or making unilateral decisions that are based in emotional thinking. It is critical to understand how our emotions can drive our thinking and our behavior, and it is important to manage those emotions in a healthy way that allows for understanding viable solutions and facilitates well thought out problem solving.

Every legal and financial decision is potentially wrapped in emotion, and those emotions can prevent us from fully understanding our options and choosing the options that make the most sense going forward. For almost every divorcing couple or civil disputant, trust is usually broken and communication is not working very well, if at all. Bringing broken trust and poor communication into the decision-making process is not a good recipe for success.

Therefore, communication coaches are an important investment to be made in achieving a long term satisfying outcome for those in conflict. I use the term “investment” because failure to understand and manage emotions is a huge cost inflator for those engaged in civil and family law disputes. The valuable work provided by the communication coach is a cost savings mechanism as well as a valuable resource for those in conflict.

Our emotions determine the “elevator music” that plays in the background of all we do. Going through a divorce or civil dispute creates uncertainty and ambiguity, which can drive fear. If fear is the background music playing in our minds at times of conflict, then our ability to process choices and achieve informed consent is limited if not impeded. Having a communication coach to work with allows a sounding board to check in and assess if we are reacting from an emotional standpoint rather than a legal or financial standpoint.

Having a communication coach also makes it easier for the client to stay present and focused, manage their emotions, and moderate their behavior. It has been my experience in working with clients embroiled in civil and family law disputes that communication coaches can assist in measurable ways on many levels, including:

Helping client create enhanced safety zones;
Helping client cope with strong emotions and stress;
Helping client to practice effective communication;
Helping client remove barriers to communication;
Facilitate necessary and difficult conversations;
Check in with clients and make sure they stay on task; and
Coach the client to the finish line of their dispute resolution process;

Collaborative Law is a unique process that utilizes an integrated team of professionals working together to help people involved in all types of civil and family law disputes to co-create agreements that will be durable and lasting. Each professional is highly trained in his or her specific profession and all professionals work together to support a healthy outcome. The integrated team of Collaborative professionals includes legal professionals, financial professionals and communication coaches to support a conflict resolution process that promotes healthy and sustainable outcomes.

Communication coaches are a vital component to the interdisciplinary team of professionals to help us separate the fear or anxiety from the decision-making process so that clients can remain fully present in meetings and in making the important decisions that must be made in a way that will be satisfying, durable and lasting.

Experience is not Expensive. It’s Priceless!

OC Collaborative Professionals Share Expertise at October 2016 Events

October 12, 2016 By CDSOC

Members of Collaborative Divorce Solutions of Orange County (CDSOC) are in demand as professional education panelists and seminar leaders throughout Fall 2016 due to their expertise and experience working with a diverse array of Orange County clients in the Collaborative approach to divorce.

Full trials are becoming increasingly rare in family law. With no relief in sight for underfunded, impacted courts in California, trials can take years to set and families can face exorbitant costs and fees. Clients are demanding alternatives to expensive protracted court battles. As a result, good negotiation skills are now absolutely critical for family law practitioners.

“Our member professionals are considered so knowledgeable in their fields, they are called upon not only to properly educate clients, they also train and educate other professionals to ensure the highest levels of ethics and competence,” said Dr. Carol Hughes, CDSOC member who will be among the lecturers at meetings this fall.

“Orange County families who are considering a Collaborative approach to their divorce can be confident in the guidance and qualifications of our members, who not only uphold high standards in their personal practice, but who are called upon to help Collaborative professionals across the United States in developing the highest standards in this area of family law,” added Dr. Hughes.

Collaborative Practice professional education presentations include:

Attorney Diana L. Martinez will join a four member panel to discuss cultural competency in family law practice in a live webinar format hosted by the State Bar of California Family Law Section on Thursday, October 27, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. Visit https://calawyers.org/section/family-law/ to learn more and to sign up for the presentation.

Diana L. Martinez and divorce coach Dr. Carol Hughes will discuss “Effective Collaborative Practice” at the State Bar of California’s Family Law Conference 2016 at the Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard, California on Friday, October 21. This introduction emphasizes assessing potential cases for appropriateness; training and education; professional team expectations, protocols, and understanding of professional roles; educating clients; and ethically and responsibly assisting clients in a Collaborative Divorce process.

Divorce coaches Dr. Hughes and Bruce Fredenburg, financial professional Cathleen Collinsworth, and family law attorney Brian Don Levy, Esq. will present a panel discussion titled “How Interdisciplinary Teams Bring Clients to Agreement Readiness” at the 17^th annual meeting of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, October 27.

For professionals with interest in learning more about any of these presentations, please visit the CDSOC Events Calendar page here.

Limited Scope Representation and Collaborative Law Featured at October Luncheon

October 11, 2016 By CDSOC

Robert Hawley, former Chief Labor Counsel, Deputy Executive Director and then Acting Executive Director of the State Bar of California, addressed members of Collaborative Divorce Solutions of Orange County and guests at the organization’s monthly luncheon on October 11.

Mr. Hawley shared his expertise to a full house luncheon honoring former CDSOC president and dear friend, Tracy McKenney who passed away on September 22, 2016.

Robert Hawley began his legal career as a disciplinary prosecutor for the State Bar. He then entered private practice for over ten years representing management in labor and employment matters before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. He served as a member of the State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC) as well as its Chair and Special Advisor, as a hearing officer in the former voluntary State Bar Court, as a frequent MCLE speaker, and as a qualified expert witness in professional responsibility and labor law matters. Mr. Hawley has taught Professional Responsibility and labor law at various Bay Area law schools for the past twenty-five years, and is currently on the adjunct faculty of Pacific McGeorge School of Law. Mr. Hawley is the recipient of the National Organization of Bar Counsel’s 2014 President’s Award, recognizing lifetime achievement and service in attorney regulation.

Mr. Hawley addressed some sensitive and challenging concerns related to limited scope representation and Collaborative Family Law Practice. Yes, Collaborative practice is an accepted process in family law (both by the local court rules and by the state bar). Yes, it falls under the purview of Limited Scope Representation and, therefore, requires a clear expression of the limits of the representation. Yes, it requires a written and signed agreement to enter into Collaborative practice. And, yes, the disqualification provision is accepted and in compliance with California Rules of Professional Conduct, if the proper disclosures were previously made to the clients.

CDSOC thanks Robert Hawley for answering our questions, for sharing his expertise, and doing it all in such an engaging and entertaining way. We hope his Mini Cooper listens to him soon, at least until his 18 month window expires (a joke shared with those at the luncheon).

This event is an example of the benefits CDSOC provides to its members: substantive training through educational luncheons that give our members tools to implement the same day in their practice. Members also earned one hour of MCLE Ethics unit credit.

If you would like to attend a luncheon and experience the value of CDSOC membership for yourself, contact any board member listed on our About Us Page here who can add you to the Evite list. What a great way to spend a Tuesday lunch hour.

Your Six Different Divorce Alternatives

September 6, 2016 By CDSOC

by Leslee J. Newman, CFL-S, Family Law Attorney
Orange, California

1. Self-Representation (“Pro-Per”)

Both parties may consult with attorneys, but decide to represent themselves in or out of court. Both parties are ultimately responsible for the agreements and paperwork that goes to the court for filing including the final Judgment.

2. One-Party Representation

One party is represented by an attorney and the other is not. Generally, the party who has the attorney is responsible for drafting the paperwork, and the unrepresented spouse would get advice as to what he or she wants included in the final Judgment.

3. Both Spouses Have Representation

Both spouses have their own litigation counsel, and try to settle parts of the case through settlement discussion. If they are unable to settle some or all of the issues, the case goes to court for a judge to make the decisions for the spouses.

4. Mediation

Both spouses retain the same mediator who acts as their neutral facilitator and does not represent either party. Depending on the style of the mediator, and whether or not the mediator is an attorney, the spouses may have the benefit of being educated as to the law, available options, recommendations, and suggestions, etc. If the mediator is an attorney, there is the added advantage of accurate drafting of the court forms, and the Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

Because the mediator is a neutral party, the mediator encourages both spouses to consult and review the Judgment with other attorneys before signing. There is also a confidentiality privilege in the California Evidence Code, called the mediation privilege, which can help to protect the privacy of the mediation process. If the spouses are able to settle all of the issues of their case through mediation, they do not have any court appearances.

5. Collaborative Practice

The Collaborative Process features an integrated team of professionals. Each spouse retains their own Collaborative lawyer, and a divorce coach who is a mental health professional assisting with the communication, the emotion of the divorce, and helping to regulate the interaction between the parties. The neutral professionals on the team are a financial specialist (forensic or financial planner), and a child specialist, if there are minor children or adult children still living with the parents.

Through the Collaborative Process, the spouses and their professional team enter into a written agreement with the understanding that if the collaborative process breaks down before the entry of the Judgment or completion of the case, then the professional team, including the attorneys, are disqualified from going to court and continuing on the case. This process usually includes the privilege of confidentiality in the written stipulation to begin the collaborative case.

6. Cooperative Process

The cooperative process begins with an informal agreement between the spouses and their attorneys not to go to court, but to conduct settlement discussion and face to face meetings to settle the issues of the case. Unlike collaborative practice, however, the spouses and their attorneys are not disqualified from going to court if there are any issues that cannot be settled out of court.