Mediator Matthew House's Critique of Collaborative Practice Groups
Why pay more just to settle for less?
Collaborative practice groups market themselves as a group of professionals who each do different things in the divorce process. On its face, that sounds great. However, what it boils down to is this:
You pay more because you have to hire more than one person to get your divorce completed. It drives up the cost, increases the time, and adds to the stress because you have to explain your circumstances to a new person each time. There is only so much overlap in the file, so there will inevitably be some reinventing of the wheel with each new professional whose services you enlist.
For several years, Matthew accepted a limited caseload to have time to further his skill set. The result is a mediation practice unique in the Portland metropolitan area (and probably unique throughout Oregon) that caters to clients who want the convenience, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of a one-office solution for their divorce mediation.
Matthew has taken the time to get the necessary training and practice the skills required to provide, in one office, all of the services that a divorcing client is likely to need. You don't have to settle for a practitioner who focuses on only one aspect of the process. Matthew does not want you to have to choose between spending extra money or going without a full complement of services.
Even with this comprehensive bevy of services unmatched in any individual office in the Portland mediation community, Matthew has the lowest overall fees of any law-degreed mediator in the Portland area with comparable experience.
You pay more because you have to hire more than one person to get your divorce completed. It drives up the cost, increases the time, and adds to the stress because you have to explain your circumstances to a new person each time. There is only so much overlap in the file, so there will inevitably be some reinventing of the wheel with each new professional whose services you enlist.
For several years, Matthew accepted a limited caseload to have time to further his skill set. The result is a mediation practice unique in the Portland metropolitan area (and probably unique throughout Oregon) that caters to clients who want the convenience, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of a one-office solution for their divorce mediation.
Matthew has taken the time to get the necessary training and practice the skills required to provide, in one office, all of the services that a divorcing client is likely to need. You don't have to settle for a practitioner who focuses on only one aspect of the process. Matthew does not want you to have to choose between spending extra money or going without a full complement of services.
- Matthew has a law degree (J.D.). Not all mediators in the Portland area do.
- If you need divorce coaching, you do NOT need to hire a separate divorce coach. Matthew has 20 years of experience doing that for client families, building on his seven years as a K-12 educator before he became a mediator.
- If you need financial analysis, you do NOT need to hire a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. Matthew has gone through CDFA training and more. He has furthered his knowledge by creating an innovative curriculum for divorce professionals concerning the financial aspects of divorce.
- If you want to incorporate your preteen and teenage children's feedback into the divorce process, as you should, you do NOT need to hire a separate child-inclusive mediator; you will already have one. Matthew has included teens and tweens in his divorce mediation process since his practice was founded in 2005.
- If you need a Notary Public, you do NOT need to search for one. Matthew provides notary services to current and former clients, free of charge.
Even with this comprehensive bevy of services unmatched in any individual office in the Portland mediation community, Matthew has the lowest overall fees of any law-degreed mediator in the Portland area with comparable experience.
When Collaboration Is Appropriate
Matthew enjoys collaborating with professionals in many different fields. His critique is only about the particular fields that a collaborative practice group usually includes for divorce mediation, not collaboration as a concept. It is important and necessary to work together with other professionals with a variety of expertise. Neither Matthew nor his office tries to provide every service. The services that Matthew has become trained to provide are the specific ones that most collaborative practitioners do only one of.