Find Lawyers in Maryland, United States for Collaborative Law: Family Law
Practice Area Overview
In traditional divorce litigation, the parties look to the court system and judges to resolve their dispute viewing the other as the adversary. The process can result in considerable emotional and financial cost to the family. Collaborative Law is a non-adversarial process that views a family in divorce as a family in crisis that has a series of problems to be solved, rather than a series of battles to be fought. The end goal is to meet the legitimate needs of everyone involved in a restructured family.
The process starts with both Husband and Wife retaining unaffiliated collaboratively trained attorneys who commit, in writing, not to go to court but instead to work together to help the couple reach agreements beneficial to all. If an agreement cannot be reached and one or both parties choose to proceed to court, the attorneys and experts are disqualified from proceeding further on an adversarial basis. With the focus on problem solving instead of adversarial representation, there is a strong likelihood conflict will be reduced, allowing the couple to resolve and reach agreements.
The parties meet privately with their respective lawyers and possibly additional experts, called “Team Members” who may include a child specialist, a neutral financial professional, and divorce coaches, all of whom perform a valuable service helping to minimize conflict and cost by guiding the parties towards an amicable resolution.
Collaborative law is similar to but differs from mediation in some significant respects. In mediation, a neutral third party (the mediator) facilitates the parties’ negotiation to help reach a settlement but cannot give legal advice, advocate for either side, or draft the final legal papers necessary. In Collaborative Law, both parties have independent lawyers present during negotiation to provide legal advice in an educational context, thereby empowering the clients to make informed decisions about their lives and their children’s lives. When agreement is reached, the collaborative lawyers will prepare all the papers necessary and will accompany the parties to court to finalize their case.
Donald C. Schiller, Senior Partner
Schiller DuCanto & Fleck
Amanda Gilbert represents individuals in all aspects of family law, including divorce, custody, adoption and assisted reproductive technology. Drawing on her own personal experiences, she strives to help clients regain control of often-overwhelming situations, and crafts creative solutions to help them achieve their goals. Her clients often express their appreciation for Amanda’s calm demeanor and patience as she guides their matters to resolution. One client recently expressed gratitud...
Dana McKee is one of Maryland’s foremost family law attorneys and a partner of Brown, Goldstein & Levy. She chairs the firm’s family law practice and has extensive experience representing clients with high net worth who are experiencing complex family law cases, including divorce, custody, and related financial issues. Clients turn to Dana for her leading expertise across all aspects of family law that affect their lives, with an emphasis on: Divorce and separation agreements ...
Donna Rismiller has been recognized for her high achievement and legal aptitude by several publications including the Maryland Daily Record, Maryland Super Lawyers Magazine, Baltimore Magazine and The Washington Post Magazine. She has been recognized as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association and a Top 10 Family Lawyer by the National Academy of Family Law Attorneys. She was also honored among the top 1% of attorneys by The National Association of Distinguished Counse...
Rebecca C. Shankman is a partner at Feldman Jackson, PC. For nearly 20 years, she has practiced exclusively in the area of family law in the District of Columbia and Maryland, which includes divorce, custody and child support, division of property, spousal support (alimony), and prenuptial agreements. Rebecca believes that the specifics of each client’s case and needs should be examined to determine the appropriate solution-oriented approach. While Rebecca has extensive experience in li...
Now licensed in Colorado as of 2020 - Stuart Skok has expanded her practice to include Colorado family law as Of Counsel with: Cox, Baker & Page LLC 858 W. Happy Canyon Road, Suite 215 Castle Rock, CO 80108 www.coxbaker.com Principal and owner of Stuart Skok Law LLC, founded in 2017, Stuart Skok handles matters of family law in Maryland, D.C. and Colorado. As one of the Top 100 Matrimonial and Family Law Attorneys in Maryland listed in The National Advocates: Top 100, Ms. Skok consistentl...
The resolution of family law issues impacts a person’s life, frequently affecting long term financial well-being and parental rights. It is important, therefore, to attain the best possible outcome. Robin B. Taub, a principal and founding member of Paradiso, Taub, Sinay, Owel, and Kostecka, P.C., has built her legal reputation upon this principle. She focuses her practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia on negotiation, mediation and collaboration. She believes these alternative...
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