One of the most common procedures performed in operating rooms across the county is arthroscopic surgery. Arthroscopic surgery involves the use of thin cameras and instruments inserted inside a patient’s body to see the inside of joints and repair them if necessary.
Until the 1920’s the only way to see or repair a joint was to make large incisions to open up the entire joint so that the surgeon could see the joint with her own eyes. This procedure required weeks or months of recovery time, more painful recoveries, more scarring and more expense.
But, from the 1920’s forward surgeons began developing an alternative way to see a joint and fix it. In the 1970’s arthroscopic surgery became very popular with the invention of fiber optics that allowed better images of the inside of joints. By the 1980’s arthroscopic surgery was the industry standard for exploring and repairing joint injuries. Thanks to pioneering doctors that adopted modern techniques to improve patients’ lives, patients no longer have to endure the unnecessary pain, scarring, recovery time and expense involved in the old surgical techniques. Now surgeries are performed in a morning, patients go home that day, recovery time is weeks instead of months, scars are the size of pencil erasers instead of coat zippers and pain levels are greaty reduced.
The same is true for divorce. The traditional model of divorce requires parties to hire lawyers who will “scorch the earth” to “win” the case for their clients. Traditional divorce is based on the theory that if you beat each other up long enough, then the result will be justice. Like the old surgical techniques, traditional divorce causes more pain, longer recovery times, more scarring and more expense than newer techniques.
Fortunately, like the surgeons that perfected arthroscopic surgery, pioneering lawyers developed and adopted modern techniques and processes for solving the legal issues of divorce. Some of those techniques, like mediation and arbitration, are already standard procedures. However, even more cutting edge techniques are being adopted by lawyers that want to provide the best possible service to their clients.
Collaborative Divorce is one of these modern techniques. Collaborative lawyers are specially trained to use active listening, interest based negotiation and collateral professionals (therapists and financial experts) to help clients resolve their divorce related issues. These techniques are the equivalent of the fiber optic surgical instruments that propelled new surgical procedures and made them standard in operating rooms.
Like modern surgical techniques, Collaborative Divorce is a superior process for achieving the same goals as traditional methods. It involves less pain, less scarring, less recovery time, less total time and less expense than the traditional techniques. If you needed knee surgery, arthroscopic surgery would be your first choice. If you are dealing with divorce issues, the choice is just as obvious.