Serving Waukegan, Libertyville, Lake County, Gurnee & nearby areas of Illinois
Posted: October 25, 2017
When most people think of lawyers, they assume they spend a lot of their time in court, litigating disputes on behalf of their clients. In reality, a great deal of the practice of family law involves non-litigated resolution of disputes. Approximately 95% of all civil cases are settled and do not make it all the way to a trial. Our attorneys always try to negotiate with opposing counsel to see if the dispute can be settled on mutually agreeable terms. Such resolutions save the parties money, time and the stress of being in court.
Our firm has a certified family law mediator who regularly acts as a neutral. In many cases, spouses will meet with a mediator before they ever see an attorney who might represent them. If agreement on all the material issues can be reached (parental responsibilities, child support, division of assets, etc.), an attorney will only have to spend a small amount of time preparing the paperwork and appearing in court to get the case finalized.
Once an unresolved case has been filed, a mediator can often get the parties on the same page. We frequently participate as advocates for our clients in a wide range of mediated family law cases. A good attorney realizes that a mediated resolution of a case is often the best possible result for a client. If you are concerned about the high costs of litigation and/or just want to get your case completed as quickly as possible, contact us to discuss if mediation is a good option for you.