ABOUT SUSAN W. WAKEFIELD

For 22 years I have focused my practice exclusively on family and divorce law. People I meet are in a great deal of emotional pain and most have been dealing with difficulties for a long time before ever seeking legal advice. Over the years I have seen families destroyed, assets depleted and lives put on hold while their case moves through the court system. The uncertainty of life during divorce is paralyzing especially for children. With a background in divorce litigation I have witnessed what happens when parties are placed in an adversarial position. Divorce is both a legal and an emotional process. Because our legal system does not address the emotional side of family law, at the end of a divorce people find they are still angry and hurt and the difficulties and lack of communication that existed before the divorce are still there which affects their ability to co-parent, willingness to comply with the terms of settlement and heal in their personal lives.

I encourage my clients to seek a mediated or non-adversarial divorce process. I believe in bringing parties together so they can create at their own pace and through their own hard work and compromise, an agreement which benefits the whole family. I bring to the mediation table information that may not be available to a non-lawyer mediator such as insight into the possible outcomes if their matter were to go to court. Whether an attorney acting on behalf of one party or an attorney mediator for a couple, clients leave the process with a sense of relief, an agreement they commit to voluntarily and willingly, an ability to successfully co-parent their children and hope for the future. Mediation is not right for everyone. If mediation is not right for you, I will represent you and negotiate a settlement for you in a non-adversarial and cost-efficient manner.

Not every couple or every case needs or can afford full representation by an attorney. I offer legal advice and counseling on an hourly basis and to whatever extent you need such as how to start an action, prepare court papers and what to expect in court. If you are already working with a mediator, I am available to act as your independent counsel to review your mediated agreement and answer questions you may not want to ask during your mediation.

Individuals still contemplating divorce or a legal separation can benefit by early legal counseling and guidance to help inform and prepare them for what is ahead and identify what they expect from their divorce and what is most important to them.

I am available and responsive to your calls and email and attentive to your specific needs and concerns.


ABOUT CONNECTICUT LEGAL COACHING

A LOOK AT THE LEGAL COACHING CLIENT AND MY ROLE AS A COACH

The economic downturn has caused individuals to question whether retaining an attorney for full representation and litigating their divorce is really the best option for their family. It took an economic collapse for divorcing parties to seek alternatives to the traditional, adversarial and costly model of divorce. The availability of information via the internet has created a more educated, savvy and frugal client. Clients are looking to participate more and pay less. Whether one retains an attorney, mediates or chooses self-representation, most individuals going through divorce seek out information from as many sources as possible to determine which option works best for them. For the self-represented party, who today make up the majority of the family court docket, when it comes to the topic of divorce it is overwhelming how much literature there is and the number of websites educating and guiding these “do-it-yourself divorcers”. Although the internet has provided the public with an abundance of free information in the area of family law, an individual choosing self-representation can benefit from the guidance and support of an experienced family law attorney to condense, streamline and personalize this wealth of information to their specific needs and issues. As an experienced family lawyer of 22 years, I have created Connecticut Legal Coaching, LLC in an effort to support and empower individuals facing the challenge of self-representation.

During the past year I have had the opportunity to coach many self-represented parties. One might assume that these individuals seeking legal coaching were either unemployed or did not have the means to hire an attorney. Au contraire, many are employed, own homes and have the resources to convert to full representation if later chosen. A recurring theme amongst my coaching clients is a need to understand and participate in what is a life changing event. These individuals want to understand the steps to their divorce process, what they need to do to move it forward, what the timelines and court dates mean, and they come to me for answers. I help them to understand the law, advise them of their rights and obligations, and together we discuss specific concerns surrounding parenting, finances and ultimately how to reach a settlement with their spouse. I share with my clients the various factors a court considers when calculating support and dividing assets so they can start budgeting and planning for their future. I offer the same guidance in a post-divorce matter to individuals looking to increase or decrease a current support order or enforce a provision in their agreement. While legal coaching is a choice to many, to most it is a necessity. For those with limited means, I have created affordable weekly workshops designed to meet their budget. During my workshops, individuals obtain valuable legal guidance that will assist them in their divorce process so they too can benefit from the advantage of legal coaching and navigate successfully on their own. Individual coaching is available on an hourly, pay as you go basis, at a reduced rate.


CONTACT ME FOR AN INITIAL CONSULTATION TO DISCUSS:

• Legal process and procedure including the different ways to divorce such legal coaching, mediation, collaborative divorce, adversarial divorce and the cost and time frame of each process.

• Expectations of outcome

• Goal setting and strategizing how to achieve those goals

• Emotional and financial impact of divorce