Cooperative divorce law is the newest alternative to fighting it out in court.

It is a practical way to reduce the frustration and expense that is normally associated with going to court.

It provides a unique, inexpensive, and efficient opportunity for divorcing parties to negotiate with one another in a setting that is conducive to compromise and settlement.

The cooperative approach is similar to collaborative law in that it also stresses settlement via the use of informal 4-way settlement meetings with the parties and their lawyers. The parties sign a Cooperative Divorce Law Participation Agreement in which they commit to:

• Emphasize civility
• Avoid confrontation
• Refrain from counter-productive behavior
• Cooperate toward creating and maintaining a negotiation atmosphere that is conducive to settlement
• Approach the issues (and not the other party) as the problem
• Treat all concerned with civility and respect
• Voluntarily provide all relevant financial information promptly and without objection
• Negotiate in good faith toward a non-court resolution
• Apply their energy and creativity toward reaching a compromise settlement instead of wasting it on preparations for a trial that only takes place in one of every ten cases. 

Cooperative divorce law joins mediation and collaborative divorce as our third settlement-oriented method of resolving conflict.

It combines some of the elements of traditional litigation with those of collaborative law. The parties get to choose what works for them.

Cooperative divorce provides the flexibility of going to court without having to get a new lawyer. 

The only significant difference between cooperative divorce law and collaborative law is that, if the parties cannot reach an out of court settlement, lawyers practicing cooperative divorce are NOT prohibited from going to court and litigating on their client’s behalf.

There is no downside with cooperative divorce law. In the worst-case scenario, this approach makes it possible for us to douse some of the flames before we enter the court system. It also provides an alternative to entering litigation as automatically and routinely as we have in the past.

If the spouses are unable to reach a settlement during their pre-court negotiations, they can take comfort in the fact that they took sensible, preventive action to mitigate their situation. They will know they did not squander their chances of obtaining a settlement when perhaps such chances did exist.

We welcome hearing from you and we invite your questions. There is no obligation. No one will ever know that we spoke or what we discussed. Everything you say is privileged, confidential, and completely classified. We do not maintain a mailing list and will not contact you unless you ask us to.

Calling us is easy. Ask for Richard or Kari (Oak Brook 630-928-0600 or Chicago 312-235-0100), or email us at rk@illinoislegal.com or kc@illinoislegal.com.

If we are in court or in a meeting when you call, one of us will personally get back to you as quickly as possible. We are extremely discreet with callbacks and reply emails. Just leave your name and a secure email address or personal cell phone number.

Richard and Kari are staunch advocates of the non-court approach to divorce, and are also active and seasoned litigators with over 60 years of combined trial experience in the Illinois divorce courts of Cook, DuPage, and Kane counties.