Litigation, Mediation & Mediation Consultation
At Dubroff, Easley & Lovell, LLP we customize our services to match our clients’ needs and objectives. Whether you’re seeking a litigator to be by your side and advocate for you in court, a mediator to guide you along as you resolve matters directly, or a coach to help you minimize costs while you manage the work yourself, we’ll help you achieve optimal results. Below you’ll find an outline of what each of these processes entail.
LITIGATION
Generally speaking, litigation refers to a legal matter that is resolved in a courtroom by way of a court order or judgment. In a family law case, litigation refers to matters that are initiated and filed with the court, in which the parties do not seek the assistance of a mediator (see below). However, litigating a matter does not mean you will necessarily ever see the inside of a courtroom. Most of our firm’s litigated cases are resolved, at least partly, through negotiation and settlement; even the most contested litigation cases containing significant ill-will between the parties can be resolved by settlement. Often these negotiations and settlements can be handled through the parties’ attorneys, meaning you have less direct interaction with the other side while resolving your case.
Settlement is almost always the preferred means of reaching resolution for contested issues because the parties are agreeing to outcomes they can live with, rather than taking their chances with an overburdened court system to make those choices for them. Settled matters are reduced to written orders or judgments, which are approved by the court and filed. Filed settlement agreements are as enforceable as orders obtained through contested hearings or trials, and can save thousands of dollars in litigation costs.
Our firm has an outstanding ratio of settling contested matters. However, as experienced attorneys we are always ready to litigate your matter in court when met with unreasonable opposition. All of our attorneys at Dubroff, Easley & Lovell, LLP have undergone extensive family-law specific advanced litigation training and can skillfully assert your positions in court.
MEDIATION
When parties mediate a family law matter, both sides are agreeing that they’d like to resolve their legal issues outside of court. They retain a mediator – a neutral family law attorney – who uses negotiation skills and legal expertise to help guide the parties to directly settle their contested issues via mutual agreement. The time required to reach complete resolution is generally faster in mediation than through traditional litigation and overall costs are often less.
The mediation process involves parties meeting jointly (and, occasionally, separately) with the mediator. The mediator is neutral and does not provide independent legal advice. Agreements reached in mediation are drafted into orders that the court approves and files. These orders are as enforceable as any order obtained through litigation.
Our mediators, Rebecca Lovell and Deborah Dubroff, have strong track records of guiding parties to reach complete agreements at a fraction of the cost than would have been spent in litigation.
MEDIATION COACHING AND CONSULTATION
When parties are mediating or otherwise seeking to resolve a matter directly between themselves, it’s common for each side to retain their own family law attorney as a coach or consultant in the background to provide personalized legal advice, information, and guidance as they craft their agreements. Family law issues can be highly technical and complicated, and having a mediation coach ensures you fully understand the legal and financial ramifications of what you’re agreeing to.
Your mediation coach will help you craft your negotiation goals, negotiation style, and negotiated outcomes with a comprehensive understanding of the underlying issues. In addition, if the matter is unable to be resolved with legal counsel acting only in the background, that attorney can step up to play a more active role in the process to achieve a resolution – either by negotiating with the other side directly, in a mediation session, or in a courtroom setting.