Ways to Help Us Help You

(arranged alphabetically)

Criminal
Click here for a list of items to accumulate to help us help you defend against criminal charges.  For a broad overview of what do if you are accused of a crime and of the criminal process, click here.  Please bring whatever papers you have concerning the case. Once you have called us, please also remember NOT to speak with anyone about the case, including police officers. We will want to discuss your rights with you so that you fully understand your options in speaking with others, including law enforcement personnel.

Divorce/Separation
Click here for a list of items to accumulate to help us help you with your divorce and/or separation.  Please also see our description of "Resolving Disputes" below.

Estate Planning
Consider bringing your last tax return and your most current statements to your visit so that we can help you decide a course of action based on your complete financial situation.

Family Court (custody, visitation or support)

Click here for a list of items that will help us to evaluate your custody, support or visitation matter.  Please also see our description of "Resolving Disputes" below.

Probate (distributing assets of a dead person)
Click here for a list of documents to accumulate to help us set up an estate.  For specific suggestions on preparations and precautions, click here.

Real Estate Documents
Click here for a list of items to accumulate to help us help you with your real estate sale.

Real Estate Costs
Click here for a rough estimate of the costs involved in a typical residential real estate closing.

Resolving Disputes

One of the reasons clients use lawyers is to try to resolve disputes.  Please remember that court is not the only way to resolve disputes.  There are, in fact, at least four basic ways to solve disputes.  We can discuss these options with you during a consultation.  Please remember to bring all the papers about the case to the consultation so we can help you evaluate the following four options:

1) Negotiation:  Even after talking with a lawyer, you can still try to talk with the other side(s) of your dispute to try to find a solution that works for both of you. You can also negotiate through lawyers. Once you find your solution, you can write it out yourself, or you can take it to lawyers who will help you write your agreement.

2) Mediation:  Mediation is where you and your opponent(s) pay a neutral third person to help you discuss your situation. Mediators are generally not lawyers and, even if a mediator is a lawyer, the mediator cannot give legal advice. You do not have to have a lawyer to use mediation, but you can choose to have a lawyer help you with the mediation process or the mediation sessions themselves.  For a more detailed overview of the mediation process, please follow this link.

3) Collaboration: In Collaboration or "Collaborative Law," the parties each have their own specially-trained lawyer and discuss their needs and interests in a series of four-way meetings between the two parties and each of their lawyers. Everything said in these meetings is confidential and cannot be used in Court if the parties end up in litigation. Collaborative lawyers: 1) help the parties accumulate the information needed to resolve their situation so everyone makes decisions using the same information; 2) help the parties set the rules for their discussion and plan the topics to be discussed and then 3) help guide the parties’ discussion of their interests all in an effort to find a mutually agreeable resolution. Settlement is the only focus of the lawyers in a collaborative process - if the parties cannot reach a settlement, they must hire new lawyers to represent them in any other process. If the parties reach agreement, the lawyers can draft the papers necessary to turn the agreement into a court order.  For more on what distinguishes Collaboration from litigation, click here. To view videos on Collaboration, click on this link.

4) Litigation or "Going to Court": There are some times when you and your opponents will not be able to agree. Maybe your opponent does not want to negotiate, mediate or collaborate. Maybe it is even unsafe for you to work on the problem with your opponent because of domestic violence, drug use, alcoholism or child abuse. When that happens, you need to go to Court. When you go to Court, you are asking to have a third person hear both parties’ versions of the facts and how each party thinks the law applies to those facts: you go to a judge. The judge then ensures the lawsuit moves to trial according to the rules set by the Court. It may still be possible to negotiate or mediate an agreement through your lawyers without having to go through the trial and your lawyer is required to help you do so if you want. If you cannot negotiate a resolution, however, you go to a trial. At the trial, both sides tell their side of the story using witnesses and the judge then uses the law to impose a solution on you and your partner. Court orders issued by a judge are rarely as flexible or creative as an agreement that you might be able to reach with your partner through negotiation, mediation, or collaborative law.

Overall: Please be careful in discussing the facts of your dispute with other people.  While you should always seek others reaction to your opinions, discussing facts can result in those persons being called as witnesses. 

Ward & Murphy
170 Main Street
Groton, New York 13073

Main Office Phone: 607-898-3190
Main Office Fax: 607-898-3765
Ithaca Office Phone: 607-272-2816
Toll Free: 877-212-4722
Ithaca Office Alternate Line: 607-280-4954
Liam.Murphy@clarityconnect.com
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