Divorce and Family Law can be one of the most emotionally charged and devastating areas of practice for an attorney. I have found, over the years, that a key to successful practice in California Divorce Law is to avoid confrontational, adversarial approaches. The key to me is to work to reduce conflict and confrontation and the emotional excesses that stem from these. I am a firm believer in collaborative practice and mediation in handling divorces. I am trained and certified as a mediator and have strong negotiation skills that I use in all the areas of law in which I practice.
A typical California divorce law case involves three areas: custody, support and property issues. In most normal divorces the resolution of these three issues is largely predictable and often based on court formulas. While in a contentious divorce these issues are often the subject of litigation, they are more properly resolved through collaboration, mediation, and negotiation without incurring the high expenses associated with a contentious litigated divorce.
In my mind and in my practice, the key to keeping the costs of divorce at a reasonable level, and, more vitally, minimizing the emotional costs to the parties and their children, is to avoid confrontation, emotion, and litigation. Nobody wins in a contentious, litigated divorce, except maybe the attorneys who encourage such practices and charge high fees for their prolonged legal services.
In my practice, I make every attempt at the beginning of California divorce law cases, to make sure my client and his or her soon-to-be-former spouse, are made aware that there is little room for debate about custody, support, and property issues, and that all three should be resolved as soon as possible according to court approved legal standards based on the situation of the parties. I also attempt to make sure my client and the other party realize that the emotions springing from a failed marriage do not have to continue into the divorce process, and allowing those emotions to be present during this process will only inhibit a fair resolution and make the divorce process itself far more expensive and emotionally harmful to both parties and to their children.
Once a marriage is over, it’s over; and it’s time to quickly find closure and move on with the rest of your life.
If you want to end your marriage in as reasonable and least painful a manner as possible, I will do my best to help you through that process. If you are seeking revenge and drama, I’m not your guy.
Copyright © 2009 MaguireLaw. California Trust Attorney. All Rights Reserved.
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to us in everyday life is to recall what has happened when there is no rule of law."
Gil Maguire, Attorney of the CA law firm MaguireLaw represents clients in California the areas of general law, estate planning,
wills and trusts, divorce and family law, collaborative law, mediation, small business law, and employment law including
wrongful termination and retaliation, wage and hour law, unlawful discrimination, sexual harassment, and employment contracts
and separation agreements. MaguireLaw provides legal services for clients in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Port Hueneme,
Point Mugu, Malibu, Santa Paula, Filmore, Newhall, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Simi Valley,
Agoura, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Hidden Hills, Calabasas, West Hills, Woodland Hills, Chatsworth,
Tarzana, Encino, Northridge, Grenada Hills, Canoga Park, in Ventura County and
Los Angeles County, California.
