PEACEMAKING: LET IT BEGIN WITH ME
At the Seattle Collaborative Law Center, PLLC we aim to change the way law is practiced in the Pacific Northwest by focusing not on creating conflict when there is little or none, but rather on the needs and interests of the client and their family.
Consider: If you are at the grocery store, on the golf course, or talking to friends and someone mentions a “lawyer”, unflattering images usually come to mind.
At law school lawyers are taught the tools of “winning”. What they do not tell their students, or the future clients, is that along with these tools come more legal fees, delay, increased conflict, lack of communication, broken families and, if there are children involved, children who may be emotionally damaged for the rest of their lives.
Here at SCLC we live by the motto of Peacemaking: Let It Begin With Me. The vast majority of people needing legal assistance need less, not more, conflict. Less conflict, and getting to a resolution, STARTS WITH THE LAWYER!! At SCLC we have faith that our clients, when given the opportunity and with our assistance, can communicate what they need and, sometimes, what they think their spouse needs. Once those needs and interests are identified, the question becomes what legal process is the best one for reaching that result. While it may be counter-intuitive, a process that emphasizes transparency, full disclosure, voluntary participation, and informed consent is more likely than not to help the client to a resolution they can embrace.
Resolutions steeped in the conflict of litigation are more likely than not to leade to a resolution that leaves both people unhappy, resentful, and poorer by far.
Our Mission is a daily commitment for the Seattle Collaborative Law Center. We invite you to come and join us and learn more.
Kevin R. Scudder
