Belinda Rachman, JD - Expert

Divorce mediation is my specialty. I am a divorce lawyer but I do not represent clients in court. The first 8 years I was an attorney I took private clients and went to court. It was so disturbing to watch families being destroyed by our adversarial system while the lawyers were getting rich. The more their clients fought, the more money the lawyers made. Divorce court is a racket. It has nothing to do with fairness or protecting the children. As an ex special education teacher, my heart has always been in doing what is in the best interest of the children. That is NOT what happens in court. Early in my career I agreed to help low income people who asked for assistance through the North County Bar Association. For many years I was the ONLY lawyer who would take these cases. Most of the time the husband and wife were both poor and couldn't afford to hire their own lawyers so instead of taking advantage of the person I didn't represent, I tried to help them find a fair solution without going to court. It became obvious to me that if I could keep divorcing couples out of court, their children would benefit. They would never be caught in the crossfire of their parents legal battles. It was also obvious that people could save a LOT of money by avoiding divorce lawyers and fighting in court. As a teacher I knew how to make kids behave themselves, share and play nicely together. These are the exact skills it takes to successfully mediate with people who can be very emotional. Most lawyers don't have a clue how to do anything but battle in court. They aren't oriented towards Win/Win. It is important for couples to make informed decisions. Unfortunately too many divorce lawyers tell their clients what they want to hear and make it harder to settle a case because the client has unreasonable expectations. I don't do that. I let people know the truth about how the law works and what would happen if they took their case to court. I act as the reality sounding board while I give the couple the information they need to make rational decisions. When couples are honest and aren't hiding assets or lying about income, it is easy to settle cases. I am very good at showing people why it is in their best interest to work together, honestly and with as little drama as possible. If this sounds like you, give me a call.