Port Gardner Law Group

We offer proficient, attentive, and exceptional legal work for families in transition. Some of our clients choose to use us on an "as needed" basis only, preferring a "do it yourself" approach to less complicated, or agreed, issues. We assist clients in meeting their goals using a variety of problem-solving methods. We are available to provide legal advice to you on an as-needed basis, because sometimes you don't need the "full meal deal." You need discrete help for specific parts of your case. With "unbundled" services, you set the agenda and utilize our services accordingly. We can help you with everything from answering your legal questions, to providing legal counsel, to researching complex and specific areas of law, to assisting in both case and strategy development, to preparing legal documents for you and even attending hearings. We offer these flexible options to meet your legal needs within your budget. Collaborative law is a newer method of dispute resolution developed in the past 20 years. It is used by attorneys to creatively solve problems in a family law matter rather than resorting to the traditional use of the adversarial court system which fosters a "winner take all" mentality. The problem solving teams also engage other experts -- such as collaboratively trained financial and mental health professionals -- to help a family make financial and parenting decisions together. Each party is represented by an attorney. In the event that the parties are not able to solve their disputes together, and choose to litigate instead, their attorneys and any other experts are disqualified from further involvement in the case, as is their work product. An attempt at mediation is required in Snohomish County before a case can be confirmed for trial. We regularly utilize mediation to assist in the settlement of family law cases on behalf of our clients. We hire a third-party professional, usually an attorney or retired judge, to assist the parties in coming to an agreement regarding their disputes. Mediation is often very effective in resolving issues related to child support, division of assets and debts, custody and parenting time (visitation). We attend the mediation sessions with our clients to ensure that their legal rights are protected and that any agreements made as a result of mediation are legally enforceable. Our attorneys are also qualified to serve as mediators and to provide dispute resolution services to the community at large. We have the skills and experience to help solve your family law problems. Arbitration is another dispute resolution process in which the parties appoint a third-party neutral, usually an attorney or retired judge, to act as a fact-finder and to decide one, or many, disputed issues, such as child support, division of assets and debts, costs and attorney fees. This process presents a faster, cheaper way to solve disputes than utilizing the court system, which can often take months to even hear a case. As with mediation, our attorneys are qualified to act as arbitrators and to provide this service to the community.