Understanding
other like family. Disputes, inevitable in any pursuit, often spread outside
of the business to the greater-family itself. Members choose sides,
thereby deepening the divide, or refuse to choose sides, thereby possibly
alienating those seeking their support. Add to this the financial burden of
conflict, and those involved often become fully consumed. At its worst, the
very fabric of meaning in life—personal relationships—can actually
unravel. The tragedy is that the anger and resentment which plague family
disputes often lead parties to hire lawyers and intensify the conflict or
instead to abandon the business and often the family itself. There is of
course another way.
The problem, at the core, is that the relationship of the parties in dispute is
broken. The remedy, as always, lies in helping them to fully express
themselves and fully hear the other. Just as anger is self-escalating, so
too is understanding self-deescalating. And understanding, though
seemingly unattainable, is always achievable.
Using either Mediation or Collaborative Law, we address the substantive
disagreements facing family members. Throughout the process we seek
to focus primarily on fostering understanding and secondarily on finding
solutions. The goal here is to restore to the family what the dispute may
have stolen: perspective, respect and warmth. All benefits flow from there.
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