About Ginger
My commitment to you:
Collaborative Divorce will bring more peace, joy and ease to your life.
Are you feeling fear of financial insecurity? Sad about the loss of your family as you knew it? This is where I come in. I am a Collaborative Divorce lawyer committed to you and your family’s financial, emotional and legal health. I began my legal career in 1982 with a mission to empower women. My mission expanded immediately when my first client, a man, made financial amends to his former wife. My mission now is to serve families, no matter the gender of my client. My sacred task is to contribute to your and your family’s divorce in a way that allows you all to experience more peace, joy and ease in your lives.
When people look back on their Collaborative Divorce process, they know their decisions made sense at the time. They are likely to honor their agreements and consider new ones when necessary. Children benefit from co-parents who get along. Spouses who went their separate ways are free to create new relationships.
I have helped 262 couples end their marriages without going to court. They created durable agreements using a process that both they and their partner were involved in. I was hired by at least one of the partners and often collaborated with other divorce professionals and the other partner to satisfy the needs and interests of as many members of the family as possible. Many of them created win-win solutions.
All win-win divorce addresses 3 issues, and I have the following experience to share with you:
1. Financial
I have been the sole owner of my Washington law firm since 1982. I value financial solvency. Collaborative Divorce attorneys address financial health, which affects physical, emotional and spiritual health as well.
2. Emotional
I do my own emotional work, which I began in 1981 after graduating from law school. I meditate, move and participate in several spiritual communities. I empathize with suffering and celebrate courage. I support people in transition, whether the idea to change their lives was theirs or their partner’s.
3. Legal
I have been an Attorney and Counselor at Law for over 44 years. I offer both knowledge and compassion. Collaborative Divorce attorneys make our legal system more understandable to people who are already have no experience of it.
I do my work out of court, because the people involved know best what they need. Collaborative Divorce attorneys create structure to help people feel safe enough to talk about their needs. We set ground rules and prepare agendas for meetings. We make sure people are ready to have particular discussions before we have them.
Since conflict is a normal part of life, Collaborative Divorce attorneys teach conflict management. We practice skills like speaking and listening respectfully. We normalize feelings. We pause and take breaks.
By encouraging honesty and transparency, Collaborative Divorce attorneys help each person express their viewpoint, allowing them to feel seen and heard. People become willing to explore new possibilities and finally reach mutually beneficial agreements.
I am a Collaborative Divorce attorney because I enjoy working with a team of interdisciplinary professionals dedicated to supporting whole families. Our teams consist of two collaborative divorce lawyers and two neutral professionals, a financial analyst and a divorce coach. With our guidance, people navigate the financial, emotional and legal aspects of their relationship transition. We support couples to move through their process as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. We talk about financial and emotional costs often so that people know what, where, how and why they and their team are spending their time and energy.
Collaborative Divorce attorneys help people divorce with professional support. Some people are able to support themselves with discussions over the “kitchen table.” If people have a home and/or retirement accounts and/or kids, I strongly recommend that people get independent legal advice before signing their final agreements. I make this recommendation because changing the financial division of assets and debts after the divorce is finalized is very hard to do unless there was fraud involved. Parenting Plans also have long-range consequences.
Although there is no “right” way to divorce, I recommend people hire independent collaborative divorce lawyers to get information and advice. People can start with one process, perhaps mediation, and change to another, perhaps Collaborative Divorce If and when people begin their divorce process, our hope is that they find professionals who listen to what they need and either satisfy their needs or refer them to someone who can.
We believe that a good divorce allows for satisfying relationships with family members and with new people. Whether people transition from spouses to co-parents, or go their separate ways, our vision is that they do so with a sense of freedom, confidence and accomplishment.
Credentials
| 1982 | Joined the Washington State Bar Association |
| 1990 | Trained in Divorce and Parenting Mediation |
| 2003 | Educated about Collaborative Divorce Law |
| 2006-2007 | Chaired King County Collaborative Law’s Family Law Practice Group |
| 2006 | Co-founded Cascadia Collaborative Divorce Practice Group |
| 2020 | Joined Collaborative Professionals of Washington |
Experience
In my 44 years of divorce work, I have helped over 90% of my clients create out-of-court agreements. With my professional advice and the input of others, they found ways to cope with the stress of divorce, which is second only to death of a spouse. My calm and reassuring presence served them. By encouraging respectful dialogue, they created satisfying and durable agreements.