Consulting & Review Attorney

Consulting & Review Attorney Services
For Family Mediation Processes

Brooklyn-based Consulting and Review Attorney Supporting Prenuptial & Divorce Mediation

Some families going through mediation choose to go through the process with a consulting or review attorney. Expand Law can help assist individual parties going through mediation with supportive services that are truly in the interest of reaching a collaborative settlement.

What is a Consulting Attorney?

When families go through a divorce mediation, the partners in the relationship work with a divorce mediator. The divorce mediator is by nature a neutral party, not acting in their capacity as an attorney. This means the divorce mediator does not provide legal advice to the partners in the relationship, and does not work on behalf of any individual partner.

A consulting attorney works on the side with just one of the partners in the relationship to discuss legal issues as needed, which may come up related to spousal support, child support, distribution of assets and debts, or other topics. A consulting attorney can help that party feel that the process is in line with the law and unfolding in a fair way.

What is a Review Attorney?

Similar to a consulting attorney, a review attorney supports one of the partners in the relationship in relation to the mediation. Whereas a consulting attorney may work with one of the partners throughout the mediation, a review attorney typically works with one of the partners at the end of the mediation, when the family and the mediator have begun drafting a settlement agreement or memorandum of understanding in support of the divorce.

Acting as a review attorney, Lindsey will help you identify some possible red flags or legal gray areas, go through your drafted agreement, and set up personal sessions with you to review the agreement and make sure it says what you think it says, so you can go forward with peace of mind and confidence in your process.

Why is it important to have a mediator act as a consulting or review attorney?

You chose to go through mediation for any number of reasons, which may have included a desire to avoid litigation, an interest in the lower cost and quicker timeline, or a desire to craft an outcome that is truly self-determined and right for your family.

Lindsey Rubinstein is a trained mediator and also offers consulting and review attorney services in support of those goals.

It can be risky to bring in an attorney acting in the interest of one party if that attorney is not educated and fully supportive of the mediation. As trained litigators, attorneys can sometimes bring an energy to one of the partners that is uncompromising, which can be unhelpful to the mediation. However, working with an attorney who is also a mediator, like Expand Law, ensures that you are educated about the law and offered advice that may further your position in addition to supporting the mediation.

A consulting or review attorney may sometimes also join a mediation session, and it is of paramount importance that the attorney’s actions bring the family closer to a peaceful resolution, not further apart.