Cooperation as Litigation Strategy

by Alisa Peskin-Shepherd | Aug 7, 2017 | Legal Process

As a litigator preparing for trial, I learned to put myself in the other party’s shoes and imagine their position or arguments in order to be prepared to respond.

To know the best angle or see the potential weakness in my own case, I have to be able to see the other side.

What happens if I try to see the other point of view for another purpose? To find commonalities in seeking cooperation?

Recently, I came across a blog on a meditation website about cooperation, and it struck me as perhaps the best litigation strategy there could be. Cooperation is defined as the act of working together toward a common goal for the benefit of all involved.

This can only happen when we let go of the need to be right and to identify others as wrong. Could it be possible that we are all right in some way, and all wrong in others?

The biggest asset cooperation brings to a litigation strategy is the mutual belief that a solution exists that will benefit all sides.

Just because we represent opposing clients does not mean we have to be oppositional. Imagine how the legal arena might be completely changed (for the better!) if we all adopted this perspective, trying to find solutions that bring benefit rather than stack one side against the other!

I’ve always viewed divorce as a transition – hence the name of my firm, Transitions Legal. Rather than an ending, a heartbreak or an evil scheme, it is possible to see divorce as a transition from one phase of life to another, and evolve to that new phase with dignity, respect and mutual benefit.

If we believe it is so, it can be true.

Trailblazers: Women Leading the Law

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Women Leading in the Law

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As we watch or listen to the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, I want to finish off Women’s History Month by paying homage to the powerful women who have led our nation’s legal thinking – and broken through previously thick ceilings to get there.