"Happy Law"

I limit my practice to transactional and collaborative areas. I don't litigate, I don't do divorce work, and I try very hard to stay out of any courtroom. Why is this? The answer is because I don't like to fight. Now don't misunderstand, I am a very effective negotiator and can be as forceful and tenacious as I need to be in a difficult transaction, but philosophically I so far prefer to spend my time working with parties in situations where everyone gets what they want at the end. In litigation, and family law, there is necessarily a winner and a loser. At the end of a real estate closing, most of the time all parties go home happy, having achieved what they set out to do. The execution of a set of estate planning documents by the client at the end of a collaborative process is a wonderful moment of achievement and satisfaction. The formation and start-up of a new business entity or the resolution of an operational challenge is cause for celebration. My husband calls it "happy law". I like the sound of that.