Peacemaker Signature: Detail-Oriented

by | Oct 7, 2019 | Collaborative Divorce

This blog on being detail-oriented is part of a series of blogs about my peacemaker signature, which is how you want to practice law, how you articulate your professional identity. In short, it’s your personal brand, style, and approach to the practice of law. I’ve published early blogs on other aspects of my signature here and here.

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For a client who doesn’t know what’s out there, I hope they stumble on this blog to learn that they can hire a detail-oriented attorney to advocate on their behalf.

What does it mean to have a detail-oriented attorney? It means I am going to be looking for, finding and explaining all the details that over the years, you might not have needed to pay attention to.

I am so much more detailed than other attorneys … in the information that I ask for, because it’s relevant. Information that other attorneys might just pass over and not consider.
I bring everything, and I mean everything to the table, so we can make solid decisions based on all the information.

Some other attorneys may not like that I dig deep for information, but I’m ok with that. I have to do what is best for my client. It’s important to gather so much information because we are using a process that doesn’t have the court behind us.

The Collaborative approach to divorce does not include formal discovery, where somebody testifies under oath that this is everything that exists to be discovered.

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Questions – so many questions!! I ask question upon question to determine what we need to know to work a case toward its best outcome. To get the right information on the table for all to see.

Anyone going through a divorce is likely to be highly emotional, no matter how friendly they want to be. Each person wants to do what’s best for themselves, of course. And in the end, even in a collaborative case, we as professionals are supposed to try to achieve what’s best for the family.

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And yet, there are individuals sitting there with their feelings, their stories, their histories, their understanding of the unfolding of this marriage. In the end, every one of us is an individual, with our solitary lives, livelihoods, futures.

The Collaborative process, I believe, is more humane, more respectful, than a typical litigative divorce case, but ulterior motives still slip into any divorce proceeding. I owe it to my client, and to myself, to make sure I have all the information.

There are moments in life when sadness creeps in and at that moment, it feels like the heavy weight of leaving will never end. I hope my clients know there IS an end to that feeling, and I am going to help them get to the other side, through whatever hard work is required.

It may take longer than we want it to, but we must believe that happiness and a better life wait on the other side of emotion. Let’s just take the steps, and the time, to travel the path before us, trusting that it will lead to a beautiful new destination.

Read more Collaborative Divorce posts