What's A One Lawyer?

 

Our American adversarial legal system is designed to resolve the worst-of-the-worst cases in which trust has completely broken down, and only a judge can decide. It works as well as any system could for those situations. Not everybody wants or needs all of the procedural complexity or pressure of that system.

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Don't Go It Alone

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Instead of trying to completely represent yourselves, getting a One Lawyer consultation is the best way to save money. Abe Lincoln was right: “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.” Washington courts have tried to make divorce forms easier for people who choose to represent themselves, but many important legal and practical issues stay hidden if you go it alone, and the paperwork is a misery to figure out. You cannot know what you do not know. That is normal. My job is to fill in those gaps so you can make smart choices.

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What's At Stake? ​

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• All your income

• All your assets

• All your debts

• Where you live

• What you are allowed to do

• Every issue about your children

• And more

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Who Uses One Lawyer?

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Many divorcing people don't need all the threats, expense, and loss of privacy from fighting their case out in court. People who marry each other know each other and often have a reasonable level of trust regarding money matters. Wise folks who want to save money and avoid ugly public battles are willing to stay respectful and negotiate in good faith, even when it’s painful. Since 2004, I have worked with both parties to settle and finalize their divorce by agreement. We don't need courtrooms, opposing counsel, and or the financial and emotional destruction that adversarial proceedings so often cause.

 

If you are unable to keep yourselves from fighting over the children (sometimes for good reasons), then you are destined for court, not One Lawyer, for those issues.

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One Lawyer Includes:

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• full legal advice for each side of your case

• practical advice for your wishes and needs (like house/retirements/etc.) 

• mediation to resolve areas of disagreement

• settlement conference judge services (what would a judge order?)

• all legal documents created, explained, approved, and signed by you

• representation in court with your final orders signed by the judge. Neither one of you has to go to court. 

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Here Comes The Judge (Rule) 

 

Let's create your future without destroying your now

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I've been a divorce lawyer since 1990. Since 2004, I've worked with both parties simultaneously to settle and finalize their divorce by agreement. In this process, both of you hear, always at the same time, the good, the bad, and the ugly on both sides, with comprehensive legal advice for each of you.

 

All communication with me or my office about your legal issues is with both of you at the same time. I call this "The Judge Rule", and it is non-negotiable. All communications to or from Ascher & Denton regarding the issues in your case must be shared with both of you simultaneously. No separate conversations. No secrets. No exceptions. This is not a limitation — it is the foundation of everything that makes One Lawyer work.

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You both get to hear all the legal and practical advice for each side of your case, understanding better than if you'd received separate lawyer consultations. Both of you hearing each other's questions and concerns helps you each clarify where you are coming from or what you need to know on the spot. You each help me understand where the other person is coming from, and you can help each other remember and understand what I've explained and asked.

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This isn't a conflict of interest. I'll never represent either of you against the other. I don't communicate with either of you separately. When I represent you in court, I only file and present the documents we've all signed beforehand. You sign a waiver of conflict because there is none. We also openly address power imbalances and require the necessary documentation of financial issues, while maintaining the highest ethical standards. 

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