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Carol Bailey conceived of practicing family law in a way we now call Integrative Family Law. During the many years she served as a Guardian ad Litem for children in difficult family law cases she observed how often the legal process itself was the cause of needless destruction of significant relationships important to the well being of both the parents and the children. The primary relationship adversely affected by the legal proceedings was that of the parents of the children, soon to be ex-spouses or ex-partners. Many times, along with the deterioration of trust and ability to work cooperatively over the lives of their children, the parents saw their relationships with their in-laws, friends and larger social circle begin to disintegrate to the detriment of their long term well being and that of their children. This result need not be the case. Almost half of the marriages and partnerships in which children are born, end in divorce or separation. Children in these families can grow up to be healthy, well-adjusted adults if the relationship between the parents remains respectful and the parents are supportive of each other as parents to the children. When the legal proceedings are conducted in a way that produces distrust and promotes conflict between the parents through court litigation, the parents’ new relationship begins with a negative, hostile quality that is often very difficult to correct. When a parent is deeply hurt by reading what the other parent and/or family and friends write in court documents in an effort to "win", he or she is sometimes unable to recover from what is perceived as betrayal and dishonesty. To attempt to avoid this outcome Integrative Family Law combines excellent legal knowledge with the wisdom of experience to guide clients toward decisions that serve not only their short term legal interests but also their long term well-being. The objective of Integrative Family Law practice is to minimize the impact the legal process has on clients’ important personal relationships, so that when the legal proceedings conclude our client has not needlessly destroyed relationships important to his or her well being and has a feeling of satisfaction about the values that guided our legal strategy. This approach also results in reduced costs to clients in many cases.
Ms. Bailey is currently developing an Integrative Family Law training program which will teach young lawyers how to practice family law consistent with the principles and values underlying the development of Integrative Family Law.
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