Our family law practice is founded on a few simple principles.  One of them is that an attorney is, first and foremost, a problem solver.  He or she must be willing to do what is necessary to obtain sound custody and visitation orders and a fair resolution of property, debt, and spousal maintenance issues.  When litigation is necessary, it is far better to simply face that reality and plan and prepare accordingly.

Over the years, our lawyers have successfully resolved hundreds of divorce and family law matters for clients in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah and through Western Washington. Through these many experiences, we have also learned that unbridled open warfare should generally be avoided when possible. Conflict for the sake of conflict rarely leads to optimal results.

Negotiation versus litigation.
Over the years, we have litigated many matters throughout Washington State.  We firmly believe that conflict is often best resolved through negotiation.  When spouses are willing to work together and act in good faith, each can choose the areas in which they are willing to compromise.  If spouses are unable to do this, the judge will decide, often arbitrarily, in which areas each party will be forced and ordered to compromise.

If spouses can work together in good faith, they will almost always arrive at win-win solutions to difficult issues.  They will also ensure that the issues most important to them are properly addressed and resolved to their satisfaction.  And, invariably, the resolutions that they choose to create will achieve far higher levels of satisfaction than would result from any court-imposed orders.

The simple truth is that once your case goes to court, you lose control.  The judge decides what is best for you and your children.  As a result, some of the most important decisions of your life will be made by a stranger.  In some cases, it literally becomes a role of the dice.

And, while we generally believe that most judges will make a sincere effort to do what is best for the people before them, the practical reality of it is that they must base their decisions on the limited information presented in a very compressed time frame. They do not have time or the resources to get to know you or your children in any critical or meaningful way.  Often, they will rely almost entirely on the advice of an expert appointed by the court to investigate the matter.  Additionally, the court's jurisdiction is limited.

No judge can be nearly as creative as couples committed to working together.  It is often helpful to think of the court as analogous to a bulldozer: powerful but completely lacking in subtlety, going down the same well-worn grooves again and again. To put it another way, the judge is simply going to spread everything out in front of them, as evenly as possible based on his or her limited knowledge, and then drop the machete.

That is really about as precise as they can get given the limited facts with which they are operating.  On the other hand, couples working together have the ability make the same decisions using a scalpel with a skilled surgeon’s precision.

This is why we often recommend resolving issues through negotiation to the extent that mutually beneficial agreements can be reached, and letting the court rule only on those issues where this approach does not lead to high-quality results.