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• Avoiding the courtroom.
  Anytime families are thrust into the court system, it is stressful for all involved. The inconvenient demands of the court calendar, the intimidating atmosphere of the court, and the impersonal treatment of very personal cases can make the courtroom an undesirable forum for conflict resolution. CL can eliminate these negatives and give clients the opportunity to make their own decisions, in their own time, with dignity and personalized treatment.
• Setting a more positive stage for the future co-parenting relationship.
  Research on children of divorce reveals that the number one factor that determines how kids get through the divorce process is the amount of conflict they must experience during and after the divorce. If we can help parents reduce or eliminate the conflict, we know that kids will have a better chance of coming through divorce in a more healthy way. When co-parents begin their post-divorce relationship with a “knock-down-drag-out” fight in the courtroom, they are likely to continue that style of communication in the future. Attorneys and judges can easily walk away from the courtroom fight and go on with their lives – but children and families whose lives have been damaged must live with the fallout. CL can help co-parents establish a more peaceful way of communicating that will hopefully extend into the future.
• Saving time and money.
  At first glance, CL may seem to be more involved, and therefore more expensive, than the traditional court process because of the involvement of an interdisciplinary team. In reality, however, CL tends to reduce time and costs because the team works together, rather than as adversaries. Traditionally, attorneys spend a lot of time filing motions, sending written communication to the other side, gathering information from professionals, and building a case in order to win in court. When both sides are engaged in similar activities that work toward a win, rather than one common goal, efforts are doubled with no promise of mutual resolution. CL, however, requires only one team that works cooperatively. CL attorneys actually talk to each other in respectful tones and work toward balancing client advocacy and realistic resolution of the issues. Current estimates are that CL can cost up to one-third less than traditional litigation.
• Considering more then one way to resolve an issue.
  Too often, because of time constraints and lack of creativity in the traditional litigation system, professionals encourage divorcing couples to “do what everyone else does.” Although standard agreements are convenient and work for many people, your life may not be “standard.” CL encourages the process of brainstorming to help parties come up with agreements that are better suited for their particular family’s needs and lifestyle. A higher level of communication between the parties and involvement of open-minded professionals creates an atmosphere that allows parties to think outside of the box.
• Retaining the power to make decisions.
  No one likes to be told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Yet, our traditional litigation system often dictates the details of finances and parenting after divorce. Statistics show that people are more likely to abide by agreements that they have an active part in creating. Because CL parties and professionals know that they will not be asking the court to make their decisions for them, everyone is inclined to embrace disagreements by rolling up their sleeves and working a little bit harder to find points of agreement, rather than relinquishing power to the courts.
• Privacy, fairness and minimizing stress.
  Anyone in the public can attend your court hearing, but you decide who will attend your CL meeting! If you have sensitive issues that you would rather not have aired in the public domain, CL is the way to go. Since “fair” is a subjective word, it is common that parties will have different ideas about fairness. Through mediation and communication techniques, CL professionals help parties to recognize the importance of considering each other’s concepts of fairness and work toward common ground that can honor both.

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