Negotiating Strategies And Challenges In The Divorce Process

About the Book “Why don't we spend much more of our time studying the art of negotiating? Perhaps a major reason is that divorce is a process, and not much of our legal education is focused on the process. The goal of this book is to explore in detail the scope of knowledge and skills that would be appropriate for professionals who are involved in the negotiation of divorce agreements. This is a book about negotiating! And since all of this negotiating takes place in the context of the divorce process, this is also a book about the divorce process!” - L.D. Gaughan Negotiating Strategies and Challenges in the Divorce Process represents the professional legacy of my father, Lawrence D. Gaughan, a monumental pioneer in the field of family law and mediation. Completed months before my father’s death and published posthumously, this book serves as an academic textbook, as well as a developmental guide for professionals. I remember around the time my father turned 65, I asked him when he planned to write a book related to his life’s work. His response was, “I will think about it when I get closer to retirement.” Twenty years later, with his practice finally starting to wind down, he announced that he had completed the final edit of his book. Just a few short months after that, he was suddenly stricken with aggressive metastasized melanoma. He passed away on June 23rd, 2019. But, my father lives on in the artful illustrations of his brilliant ideas interwoven and crafted into these chapters. I am honored that, in his final wishes, he entrusted me with the task of making sure his contribution to the field of family law was properly published and promoted. Anyone, from the lay reader to the family law professional, will find this book to be enlightening. It is a thoroughly informative, insightful, and creative examination of how the art of negotiation can be used most effectively in the divorce process.” - W. Lawrence Gaughan (son of Lawrence D. Gaughan) About the Author Lawrence D. Gaughan was the founder and Professional Director of Family Mediation of Greater Washington. He earned a J.D. from the University of Montana (1957) and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia (1964). L.D. Gaughan practiced family law and family mediation in Northern Virginia from 1979 until his death in 2019. He was also a law professor at the University of Virginia, Washington & Lee University and George Mason University law schools. In 1979-80, L.D. Gaughan took a sabbatical from W&L to study family systems with Murray Bowen, M.D., and his staff in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University. He was a member of the Virginia State Bar since 1967. From 1975-1999 he gave the annual keynote lecture on Family Law at the Virginia State Bar Association Conference. As an attorney, L.D. Gaughan consistently received the highest ratings for both legal ability and ethical standards (“AVR PreeminentTM") from Martindale-Hubbell. He was also rated 10 out of 10 by Awo. He was a founding member of the Professional Mediation Board of Standards, a 501(C)(3) board formed to frame and implement standards for professional family mediators, and was certified for collaborative practice. In September 2017, L.D. Gaughan received the Distinguished Mediator of the Year award from the Virginia Mediation Network at its annual conference in Richmond. In 2019, at their convention in Boston, he was posthumously recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Professional Family Mediators.

This informative book, written in lively language, analyzes extensive material from in-depth studies of divorce professionals and their clients and uses vivid real-life examples to describe what facilitates or blocks successful settlements.

Negotiation is a critical part of any family lawyer s job, meaning that the importance of becoming a better negotiator cannot be overstated. Settlement Negotiation Techniques in Family Law discusses the most important concepts of divorce settlement negotiation techniques to help lawyers and other divorce professionals improve their skills. Well written and logically organized, it offers reasoned and tested approaches that help practitioners understand the many aspects of negotiation, and through this process assist their clients in getting to yes and the opportunity for a better future. This invaluable, clearly written resource is based on the realities of daily legal practice. Beginning with traditional theories and basic concepts of negotiation, the book examines the nuts-and-bolts issues involved in divorce negotiation and settlement. From issues of timing to how to prepare the client for settlement and negotiating with opposing counsel, Gregg Herman offers informed and thoughtful advice based on his years of practice. He also addresses more specialized aspects of divorce negotiation, including: the four-way meeting; planned early negotiation; mediation, collaborative divorce, and cooperative divorce; ethical issues; preparing for the endgame; ten essential rules for negotiating; and much more."

Your divorce usually isn't the end of your dealings with your former spouse. Personal, financial and legal issues may linger for many years after the divorce is granted. Brad McRae provides a system to minimize conflict and maximize impact in your dealings with your former partner to create a win-win situation.

In this comprehensive guide on "Mediation and Negotiations," readers will learn the essential principles, techniques, and strategies to become skilled conflict resolution practitioners. From understanding the dynamics of conflicts and their impact on individuals and societies to exploring the step-by-step process of mediation and effective negotiation strategies, this book equips readers with the tools to navigate complex disputes. Through real-life case studies, readers will gain insights into successful mediation and negotiation scenarios, while also delving into ethical considerations and the integration of technology in conflict resolution. By the end of this book, readers will be empowered to foster constructive communication, build trust, and navigate conflicts with empathy, ultimately paving the way for sustainable resolutions that promote harmony and cooperation.

Most books on negotiation assume that the negotiators are in a stable settintg. But what about those far thornier times when negotiation needs to happen while other fundamental factors are in uproarious change— deciding which parent will have custody of their child while a divorce is underway; bargaining between workers and management during the course of a merger and downsizing; or establishing a new government as a civil war winds down. From Docherty's experiences in environmental/public policy negotiations and community development work. A title in The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding Series.

Each year more than 2 million Americans get divorced, and most of them use a lawyer. In closed-door conversations between lawyers and their clients strategy is planned, tactics are devised, and the emotional climate of the divorce is established. Do lawyers contribute to the pain and emotional difficulty of divorce by escalating demands and encouraging unreasonable behavior? Do they take advantage of clients at a time of emotional difficulty? Can and should clients trust their lawyers to look out for their welfare and advance their long-term interests? Austin Sarat and William L. F. Felstiner's new book, based on a pioneering and intensive study of actual conferences between divorce lawyers and their clients, provides an unprecedented behind-the-scenes description of the lawyer-client relationship, and calls into question much of the conventional wisdom about what divorce lawyers actually do. Divorce Lawyers and Their Clients suggests that most divorces are marked less by a pattern of aggressive advocacy than by one of inaction and drift. It uncovers reasons why lawyers find divorce practice frustrating and difficult and why clients frequently feel dissatisfied with their lawyers. This new work provides a unique perspective on the dynamics of professionalism. It charts the complex and shifting ways lawyers and clients "negotiate" their relationship as they work out the strategy and tactics of divorce. Sarat and Felstiner show how both lawyers and clients are able to draw on resources of power to set the agenda of their interaction, while neither one is fully in charge. Rather, power shifts between the two parties; where it is achieved, power is found in the ability to have one's understandings of the social and legal worlds of divorce accepted. Power then works through the creation of shared meanings. Divorce Lawyers and Their Clients examines the effort to create such shared meanings about the nature of marriage and why marriages fail, the operation of the legal process, and the best way to bring divorces to closure. It will be fascinating reading for anyone who is going through a divorce, or has gone through one, as well as for lawyers, judges, and scholars of law and society.