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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

SPECIAL REPORT: Collaborative Style Comes Together for Clients

Michelle Daneshrad is a family law attorney and past president of Family Divorce Solutions of the San Fernando Valley. She is the founder of her Woodland Hills’ practice, Completion Law Firm, as well as collaborative practice group San Fernando Valley Collaborative Professionals. Daneshrad graduated from Southwestern University School of Law in 2001 and is a speaker and trainer for personal development organization Landmark Worldwide in San Francisco. In her free time, Daneshrad leads personal growth and leadership seminars, promoting well-being and development. Fluent in Farsi, she came to the U.S. from Iran when she was just 14 years old and is currently a board member of the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association. She hopes to take family law in a direction of mediation and cooperation as opposed to litigation and conflict. She also has an interest in the related concept of “restorative justice,” which emphasizes ways to repair the harm caused by a crime with the involvement of victims, offenders and others. Daneshrad discusses the benefits of collaborative law and its monetary impact on both the families involved as well as the attorneys. Does Crossfit workouts daily. Put herself through law school to finish her own divorce; up to that point, it had taken five years, five attorneys and cost almost $500,000. Fluent in Farsi. Has a dream to give a TED Talk on restorative justice this year. Question: What is collaborative law? Answer: It’s a nonadversarial legal process whereby a team of professionals works with the parties to resolve their matter and avoid going to court.  What types of cases is collaborative law used for? Family law including separation, divorce, parental rights and premarital agreements are the most common. It is also used for civil matters such as estates, trusts, probate, business and employment. What are the pros and cons? Pros: Clients have control over the process and the outcome. They are provided with legal, emotional and financial guidance and are able to create options based on their real interests in life rather than competing against each other. The clients look toward the future rather than “getting even” for past events. The process allows for closure and finality rather than regret and resentment lingering on and leading to future litigation. Cons: If the parties’ intentions are to take advantage of one another, this process will not be appropriate or successful. Since collaborative law discourages litigation, does it have a negative effect on your practice monetarily? Although collaborative professionals make substantially less money from a collaborative case in comparison to a litigation case, their overhead expenses and the personal costs due to the stress of conflict are substantially less also. The fulfillment and reward of supporting a family through this healing divorce process is immensely valuable for the professionals. How do you charge for collaborative law? How does the cost of collaborative law compare with litigation? Generally, each professional charges on an hourly basis. In litigation, many hours and thousands of dollars can be spent in discovery motions and waiting in court. The collaborative process is an outcome-building process. According to the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, the collaborative process on average costs 50 percent less than the cost of litigation in California. Currently, how often is collaborative law used over litigation? Which do lawyers prefer? We know that 70 percent of all divorce cases in California are pro per (where the parties represent themselves), with no lawyers involved. Five percent of cases are litigated. The remaining 25 percent are resolved through some kind of consensual dispute resolution. Using my experience as a guide, among people who were educated about the different options available to them, 40 percent were in favor of collaborative process, 40 percent favored mediation, and 20 percent felt the need to pursue litigation. Among family law attorneys who have experience with both types of cases, most prefer the collaborative process because of its cooperative approach. Is collaborative law a growing trend? Yes. The challenge for Family Divorce Solutions is educating our potential clients about this option. As people learn about their options, the demand for collaborative process increases, and more attorneys and firms include it as part of their practice. – Stephanie Henkel

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