Practice Area · Resolution
Mediation and litigation.
These aren't opposite strategies — they're one strategy. Mediation rewards the side that shows up with the trial file. Litigation readiness is what makes settlement possible on good terms. An iron fist in a velvet glove.
Mediation, Done Seriously
Preparation is the leverage.
Many Colorado divorces resolve at or around mediation, and many districts require a good-faith dispute-resolution effort before a contested hearing unless the requirement is waived — safety concerns among the recognized reasons. What separates outcomes isn't the mediator — it's what each side brings: completed valuations, tax-effected proposals, a settlement architecture already drafted, and the demonstrated ability to try the case if the day fails. I arrive at mediation with the trial notebook built, because the other side can tell — and their assessment of your readiness is the real currency in that room.
Litigation, Without Apology
Comfortable in court. Never performing in it.
When trial is necessary, you'll have a lawyer with three decades of courtroom work — seventy-plus bench trials, extensive expert cross-examination, and no need to posture. Family court judges reward preparation, candor, and proportion; they punish theater. My courtroom style is the same as my negotiating style: firm, professional, respectful, strategic. And for cases where privacy or scheduling argues for it, private arbitration can supply a binding decision without the public courtroom at all — an option more of my clients should hear about than typically do.
Common Questions
Choosing the room.
Should we try mediation first?
Almost always yes — and almost always after the financial work is done, not before. In a complex financial case, mediating before the valuations and disclosures are complete is negotiating in the dark — the sequencing matters more than the enthusiasm.
What if my spouse won't be reasonable?
Then preparation matters more, not less. Unreasonable positions collapse fastest against a side that is visibly ready to try the case — and if collapse doesn't come, we'll be standing in front of the judge with the better file.
Is collaborative divorce or arbitration right for us?
Sometimes. Collaborative processes suit parties committed to settlement; arbitration suits those wanting privacy and finality without a public trial. Both are tools, not ideologies — I'll recommend the room your facts actually favor.
The rest of this chapter.
How a Colorado divorce actually moves: temporary orders, mediation and litigation, privacy, and what happens when an order has to be modified, enforced, or appealed.
- Divorce in Coloradohow the process actually works→
- Mediation & Litigationsettle from strengthYou are here
- Privacy & Discretionengineered from the first filing→
- Emergency & Protection Ordersthe automatic injunction, and urgent relief→
- Modificationswhich door you knock on matters→
- Enforcement & Contemptorders are only as good as their enforcement→
- Appealswon at trial, by the record→
- Common Law Marriagewhether a marriage exists at all→
- Legal Separationsame process, different decree→
- Temporary Ordersthe first ninety days, governed→
- Attorney Fees & Costsfee-shifting and the level playing field→
- Protection Ordersthe shield, and the defense against it→
Engagement
Prepared for the courtroom. Built to keep you out of it.
A consultation is a scheduled working session — in person in Greenwood Village or by video — in which we go through your situation and I tell you what I would do. It is a paid meeting, not a free call and not a sales pitch; my assistant quotes the consultation fee when you schedule. There is no chatbot here: the contact form and the phone both reach my office, my assistant reviews every inquiry personally, and the meeting goes on my calendar. Please hold the confidential details until we have run a conflicts check.