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Choosing a Collaborative Divorce Attorney

Choosing your collaborative divorce lawyer is one of the most important decisions that you will make during your case. When choosing any divorce attorney, it is important to find someone who is able to understand your long-term goals and who provides you with the necessary tools to reach those goals.

If you are interested in collaborative law practice or collaborative divorce, we recommend choosing an attorney who has significant experience in both traditional litigation and collaborative law. With knowledge of traditional practice as well as collaborative law, your collaborative attorney can help you decide which process is right for you. Your collaborative divorce lawyer will play a critical role in helping you to find a successful path through what can be a very confusing divorce process. Divorce is a major life event and it’s important to select a collaborative divorce attorney with experience.

In addition to the attorney’s experience, it’s important that you find a collaborative divorce lawyer whose personality you can easily work with. When evaluating potential collaborative attorneys, bear in mind that you will depend on your attorney to help you communicate, mediate, and apply decisions within the collaborative divorce process. Finding an attorney that you connect with and trust is an important consideration in the collaborative law process.

In selecting a collaborative law lawyer, there are several other questions you should also ask.

• Ask whether the collaborative lawyer has been fully trained in collaborative law and if they are a member of local and international collaborative law associations. These groups require their members to be fully trained in collaborative law practice before joining.
• You should also ask if your collaborative attorney attends continuing legal education courses on collaborative law. This is a new and rapidly developing area of family law, so it’s important to have a collaborative attorney who has undergone full collaborative training and is up to date regarding this evolving practice. Collaborative law practice is very different from traditional litigation and it requires specialized training and knowledge about the process itself, interest-based negotiations and mediation, and other skills that are not typically used in traditional litigation.

McKinley Irvin has three experienced, skillful, and compassionate attorneys to help guide you through the collaborative law process:

• Elizabeth Hershman-Greven (Seattle)
• Justin M. Sedell (Seattle)
• Marc T. Christianson (Tacoma)

Please take a moment to review their profiles. Our attorneys practice collaborative law in all counties in Washington, as well as traditional litigation. They are active members in good standing of the following collaborative law organizations:

• King County Collaborative Law
• Collaborative Law Professionals of Pierce County
• Collaborative Professionals of Washington
• International Association of Collaborative Professionals

Our collaborative attorneys will work with you to help you determine the best option for you and your family, laying out all the pros and cons so that you can make the most educated decision possible. Once you determine which method you’d like to pursue, we will help you put the plan into action. To schedule a consultation or to learn more, please contact us today.