DOUG SIMPSON MEDIATION | TACOMA • SEATTLE • OLYMPIA • SAN DIEGO
Regain Control When a Relationship Ends
- Ending a business relationship?
- Divorcing your spouse or uncoupling?
- Dissolving a partnership or company?
Regain Control When a Relationship Ends
Most of us handle whatever annoying little problems life throws our way without really breaking a sweat. The babysitter quit, the sink is clogged, your hard drive crashed, and your mother-in-law is coming for a visit. You got this.
But when you sense that big trouble is looming in your career or personal life, it can feel like the situation is beyond your control. It can feel like your car has lost its brakes, right at the top of a hill.
Maybe your tenant broke the lease, your spouse packed up and left with the kids, your boss refused to do what she promised, or a competitor stole your idea. Anybody can be blindsided when a person they trusted takes advantage of them.
A crisis like that can leave you feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and emotionally exhausted. Worry can consume you.
That’s a lonely place to be. So how do you know what to do next?
Most lawyers will tell you that the best way to resolve that type of conflict is to take the whole mess to court—a process that’s usually time-consuming and expensive. Let’s face it, that’s pretty scary.
It may be difficult to imagine.
But there’s a rational way out of this. And that’s where I come in.
Creating a sense of order out of chaos is what I do.
Regain Control with Mediation
I learned early on in my career as a defense attorney that the courtroom is an intimidating place. Most of my clients would rather have a root canal than set foot in one. My job was to help them avoid whatever legal landmines lay before them, waiting for a judge or jury to decide their fate.
Lawyers do their best, but can’t guarantee what judges or juries might do. In mediation, you are in charge of your fate. You decide.
Often, representing clients in court was a frustrating experience for me—watching as they were forced to spend months, or even years, and spending their savings to resolve problems that I felt sure could be easily fixed outside of court.
I knew that it would only take a few hours to find a solution, if both parties could set aside their anger and communicate effectively with each other. It’s ironic that in high-stakes situations, people tend to make bad decisions because they’re in a rush or are overtaken by grief or resentment. It’s a time, though, that making decisions with a level head is crucial.
So I decided to seek training as a mediator, a guide who clears a path forward for people involved in a conflict. I’m the go-between, the person who proposes outside-the-box solutions to solve a problem in a way that everyone can live with.
Resolving a conflict can be done without a courtroom. At a minimum expense.
And with a maximum amount of predictability and control.
So if you are thinking of a divorce mediation in Tacoma or Seattle, or if you want to resolve business disputes, or civil litigation, or environmental litigation, contact me—I think I can help.
In Mediation, You Decide the Results
I listen to warring parties in order to find out what each side wants and why. Then I show them how to quickly create a solution to whatever seemingly insurmountable problem has come between them. You decide whether to end the dispute.
You don’t have to invest vast quantities of time and money in order to win back your self-respect, your savings, your business, or your family.
Even if you feel like you’re David, taking on Goliath, I can show you how to level that playing field, communicate what will work for you, and successfully move past the broken relationship (at home or in business) that threatens to sink your ship.
My mediation process has helped hundreds of people and businesses when they thought the legal system was failing them. Their lawyers kept them in the dark, the bills were stacking up, and they were spending days in court when they should have been at work.
My mediation process takes both parties out of the courtroom and to a place where they feel comfortable—where they don’t have to face each other if they don’t want to, there’s no public speaking, there’s no risk that a stranger in a robe, waving a gavel, will make decisions for them.
For decades, I’ve worked with clients to quickly create fair, workable, lasting agreements that resolve both parties’ issues, while avoiding unnecessary costs.
I’d have to say that the most important and satisfying thing that I do is to help people regain control, resolve their problem, and move on with their lives.