The Power Of Words In The World Of Divorce

By Author: Braxton Douglas
Total Articles: 16
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Lawyers, at their best, are great wordsmiths. The legal profession and its ability to precisely state positions and clarify rights and duties stands on the shoulders of such historical giants as Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Webster, Clarence Darrow and Williams Jennings Bryant to name just a few.

The ability to take the complicated abstract thought which is an agreement between two people, translate it into English and make certain that the agreement says what the parties’ think it says and will accomplish what the parties’ think it will accomplish, is a rare skill. A skill that we at Liaise believed to be found most often in experienced attorneys. That is why every Liaise mediator is a graduate of a fine law school and has practiced law in relevant and related fields.

Many of the customers at Liaise are highly skilled professionals. They run the gamut from physicians to lawyers, business people, school teachers and engineers. I am often amazed at the gushing compliments that these very intelligent individuals use to describe their experience at Liaise. If I had to do the mathematics that software engineers ...
... perform daily, I would be at a complete loss. Similarly, if I had to practice medicine I would be a disaster just waiting to happen.

It just goes to show you, what is routine to one professional is often extraordinary to another.

Most of the mediators at Liaise have experience as a family law lawyer. Although some of our mediators did practice family law in San Francisco, one need not exclusively be a San Francisco family law attorney to achieve the high level of skill necessary to be a Liaise mediator. Indeed, one of our most talented mediators could best be described as a San Francisco family lawyer. That is to say that she did not practice family law as such but she spent a great deal of time advising San Francisco families in such diverse areas as business, probate, and dispute resolution.

The training education and experience in law provides Liaise mediators with the scope of education and experience needed to assist couples in discovering the lexicon they need to utilize in agreeing to divorce. So many times in mediation, finding just the right word is the key to defusing a situation. Mark Twain’s said, “The difference between the right word, and almost the right word, is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

Clearly, words count. It is one thing to be eccentric and quite another to be crazy. Being idiosyncratic is one matter, obsessive is something else entirely. Liaise mediators can help provide the words needed to define or frame an issue in a non-polarizing way and allow the forging of a lasting agreement.

No matter the type of divorce issue or dispute that you may find yourself dealing with, call Liaise® Divorce Solutions and we will start you on the path to the best available negotiated agreement.

Braxton Douglas has written extensively on legal issues and the practice of law. David D. Stein is an Attorney and Divorce mediator associated with Liaise Divorce Solutions, a mediation service and law firm specializing in marital reorganization and dissolution proceedings, with competent and knowledgeable San Francisco Divorce lawyer.