FAMILY LAW
It’s client centric lawyering that gets results, not big egos ROSE COCCHIARO, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RESOLVE DIVORCE
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hen I started my family law firm, Resolve Divorce, almost six years ago, I was motivated by two factors: one, to serve the community in a client-centric way that provides transformative experiences; and two, to challenge traditional lawyering, particularly as it relates to servicing clients, and influencing the legal community, demonstrating that doing law differently can achieve success. Resolve Divorce is now a thriving and successful business. It is having an impact on the community in a big way. We are achieving success; stemming from being client centric, humanising the law, and making it about the clients and not our own egos. I now want to be louder. My goal is to influence other lawyers, inspiring them to maximise the positive impact that they can have on the community and holding them accountable to the role they play in fuelling the conflict between parties to a dispute. We should be a profession that is client and outcome focused, motivated and determined to achieve success for our clients and ourselves. I argue that focusing on client centric legal practices and bringing a human element to each client’s legal experience achieves better outcomes. It is our job as lawyers to help our clients understand legal
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concepts, think deeply about the financial and emotional impact of the dispute and guide them to consider various options and be openminded about negotiating outcomes in creative dispute resolution forums, to help them reach settlements. In my experience, modern day clients want and need an environment where it’s a two-way street; where the client can be involved in the process and the negotiation, and have some control over how their matter is run and what outcomes they want to achieve. The skill is being able to toe the fine line to manage your client’s expectations and reality check your client around the reality of the legal outcomes compared to what their goals are. Behind every dispute, conflict has occurred because of a human interaction and something that’s gone wrong between people. It’s about understanding and responding to human emotion and demonstrating authentic empathy. That is what makes you a standout lawyer. At Resolve Divorce, the lawyers consider their responsibility to be beyond the legal advice, approaching assisting clients in a more holistic way. We offer a wellbeing program and get our clients prepared for the process through a series of steps designed to ensure they achieve their best outcome, whatever that means
for them. A recent client came to us describing herself as a “broken woman”. We spent time with her mapping out her goals and preparing her for her future, supporting her to evaluate what she wanted for her life post-divorce. She was well prepared for the negotiation. We assisted her to build a strong support network around her, which included a money coach and a divorce coach. Our client achieved financial empowerment by setting clear financial goals, better understanding her relationship with money, and detailed budgeting. She was also emotionally supported by the divorce coach, and able to overcome any roadblocks she met throughout the negotiation. Through her support network, she learned ways to communicate better and to work through her grief. The negotiation, controlled by her, was focused on understanding her goals, needs and worries. She was able to achieve a positive outcome, in a minimally invasive forum, because she was informed by our advice, empowered by her support network, and had clear goals to work toward. At the meetings, the parties discussed the real issues that mattered, reaching an agreement that met both of their goals, whilst still achieving their legal rights and
