Our Tools from the New Legal Paradigm
 

We created our law practice as a showcase of tools for the new legal paradigm. Here are the ones we use most:

Transformational Mediation

Mediation is a cooperative process in which a neutral facilitator assists people in working out their own resolution to a dispute. The mediator is not a judge, does not make judgments about who is right or wrong, does not take sides and does not decide how the dispute should be resolved. The mediator helps the participants reach their own voluntary agreements and assures that no one makes an agreement that is not satisfactory to him/her. Any participant can decide to end the mediation process without reaching an agreement and the mediator has an obligation to end the process if it becomes clear that a fair outcome cannot be reached in the mediation. Mediation is about resolving disputes in ways that satisfy and feel fair to everyone. It is an appropriate dispute resolution process when all participants seek a fair outcome, even though, at first, they may strongly disagree about what a fair outcome would consist of.  (More about mediation...)

We offer mediation services for:

•       Families

•       Crime Victims & Offenders

•       Businesses & Consumers

•       Non-Profits & Government 

•       Legal and non-legal problems

Collaborative Law

In Collaborative Law, each of you is represented by a specially trained attorney who works to resolve your case without going to court. Information is shared openly and both lawyers work cooperatively toward an agreement that works for everyone involved. We're a founding member of Collablaw.org, an organization of collaborative professionals in Western North Carolina. See http://www.collablaw.org for more information about collaborative law. This approach is particularly useful in separation and employment issues where there is an on-going relationship and a need for separate legal advice. More...

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is a different way of thinking about crimes and our responses to them. Instead of the traditional focus on punishment as justice, restorative justice focuses on the harm caused by crime, repairing the harm done to victims and reducing future harm by preventing crime. It requires offenders to take meaningful responsibility for their actions and for the harm they have caused. It seeks redress for victims, recompense by offenders, and reintegration of both within the community.

Victim Sensitive - Offender Mediation/Dialogue is a restorative justice approach which has been used in juvenile crime for many years and is being increasingly used in adult crimes including those involving severe violence, including homicides.

Preventive Law

Preventive Law is about avoiding legal problems with appropriate agreements and careful planning. We can help you create conscious business documents that reflect your values, your comfort levels with risk and create healthy relationships. This approach is particularly useful in estate planning and in preparing documents for businesses. More about Preventive Law...

Legal Counseling & Coaching

We offer compassionate listening, advice, guidance and expertise in making decisions about your legal concern and how to resolve it...whether we end up representing you or not. We help you sort out what is your best path and help you find the resources to follow it. Our focus is on creating the future and completing the past in alignment with your values and priorities. A good approach for clients who have legal problems but aren’t sure what kind of lawyer is a good fit for them or who just need legal advice and guidance.

Divorce Coaching

The end of any relationship can be confusing, stressful and exhausting. All your normal patterns and routines are interrupted and you want relief right away. Often you think you want somebody else to take charge and take care of you. You want somebody else to negotiate for you, to tell you how to behave, to handle the court action, and to tell you where to show up and where to sign. One of our colleagues describes this as "microwave lawyering"--you put the problem in the lawyer's hands along with some time and money and it gets taken care of, cooked. There are plenty of lawyers out there who will take on this role for you. They'll tell you what your life should look like after divorce and either create a settlement based on those ideas or they take your case to the court to find out what the judge thinks. Often, they mean well and believe that they're doing the best for you. But if you're like most people, you'd prefer to be in control of your own future. You know more about your family and your situation than any lawyer or judge can learn in a few hours of information-gathering.  Coaching helps you do sort out all the issues and to see what help you really need and what would serve you and the others involved in the dispute. A coach will help you get your footing back so that you can make your own decisions. More...

Holistic Law

You are not your legal problem and your legal problem did not occur in a vacuum. We take a holistic approach to your problem and finding the solution to it. More...

Unbundled Legal Services

Unbundling legal services is a way to limit the level of attorney representation and is a different way to define the relationship between client and attorney. In the past, clients often hired attorneys without really understanding what was going to be involved in their case. They were often surprised to learn how complicated the matter turned out to be, how much it cost, and how the attorney handled the case. Yet, they also knew the case was too complex or challenging to attempt without the guidance of an attorney. In the last few years, especially in family law cases, it is becoming more common for clients to try to take more control of their own lives. Limited representation is one approach to do so. More...

Other New Paradigm Approaches

There are many other new paradigms that we have integrated into our practice. Among them are therapeutic jurisprudence, energetic healing, community-lawyering, and others. For more information about all these approaches, please visit The Renaissance Lawyer Society. Kim Wright, our Managing Attorney, was the original founder and one of a hundred founding members of the organization which now is recognized as the hub of the movement to transform the profession and Kim extensively writes, speaks, and coaches other lawyers about the new paradigm approaches.