A Different Kind of Family Law Firm

Yesterday I had another unsolicited resume sent in by an attorney who was interested in Seattle Divorce Services specifically because he really liked the way we resolve family law issues.  In fact, several of our recent hires have been attorneys who wanted to leave their firms and join us primarily...
July 23, 2015

ADR Best Only If We Are Getting Along?

Many people assume that Alternative Dispute Resolution methods (like Mediation or Collaboration) won't work if the couple is not getting along well, and that their only option is heading straight to court.  In fact, Mediation and Collaboration are actually designed for conflict management.  Too ofte...
May 19, 2015

What is Early Mediation?

Early Mediation is typically an intervention early in the case to try and keep from going into litigation.  In other words, it is an attempt to see if the parties can work cooperatively to resolve the case before heading down the adversarial path.  At this stage in the case, the parties are wanting...
April 30, 2015

Non-Traditional Families

Families come in many shapes and sizes.  There is the traditional American nuclear family with a husband, wife, and 2.5 children. There are extended families living under one roof. There are blended families, families with spouses of the same gender, families with unmarried adults, families with mor...
August 1, 2014

Hammer and Nail

I was very impressed with a Boston area law firm's website I ran across today. The Boston Law Collaborative , PLLC really resonated with me, because what they do in Boston is very similar to what we are doing here at Seattle Divorce Services. I ran across the website as I was getting ready to call D...
July 25, 2014

Tips for Reducing Conflict

Divorce has a reputation of being all about conflict - before, during, and after. It does not have to be like that, however. Here are a few tips for reducing conflict in your relationships: 1. Focus on what is important. Sometimes we just get in the habit of conflict - we'll argue with ANYTHING a c...
July 4, 2014

The Difference Between Assertiveness and Aggression

I just saw an interesting article by the English mediator Neil Denny in which at one point he discussed the difference between assertiveness and aggression. As he put it: Being assertive does not mean locking horns or getting into a fight with the client. That is aggression. Assertiveness simply mea...
June 13, 2014

Amicable Divorce

I often have people come in for a consultation about an amicable divorce. They and their spouse agree that they want to keep the divorce amicable, and often they hope to be able to work out their own settlement between themselves (the "kitchen table" approach) without professionals. What makes me wo...
May 2, 2014

Do You Want Your Divorce to Stay Out of Court?

Many people heading into divorce dread the prospect of ending up in a court battle. They don't want the acrimony or the finger-pointing, they don't want the long drawn-out process, and they don't want to make an enemy of their spouse, even if they aren't close anymore. There are actually a number...
April 4, 2014

Curious Questioning

Curious questioning refers to asking questions that really are open ended - not supposing any particular answer but rather trying to gather information that we are genuinely curious about. Very often when we ask questions, there are certain answers we are really looking for.  We may be trying to...
March 28, 2014