Because we have spent a lot of time in court over the years and handle legal actions daily, we sometimes forget that a sizable portion of the population rarely or never deals with lawyers. You might have friends who are lawyers, but you might not have worked with them professionally, so your view of our work could be a little off. Or maybe you’ve primarily seen lawyers on TV and in movies, so you think we are all ruthless sharks who only think of ourselves.
Lawyers are as unique as the people who carry law licenses. At Third Ear Conflict Resolution, we provide holistic legal services in part because our founder was a plaintiff in a successful sex discrimination lawsuit. She also has extensive litigation experience representing both employers and employees. This helped her see why court is a miserable place and often ineffective in resolving disputes completely.
We want to keep you out of court, if possible. We think you will feel more empowered when you have a say in what will resolve your conflict, rather than deferring to a judge or jury to tell you what you deserve.
How We Are Different
To help you prepare for your experience working with us, we recommend the following:
- Tell us the whole truth, even if it scares or embarrasses you. We can work with what we know about, but surprises can change strategy in an instant, and we can’t always adapt our plan on short notice.
- Make the Seven Choices of conflict resolution masters, as often as necessary. Forgive yourself for having conflicts. Forgive yourself for hiding out and hoping they will go away. Forgive the world for having and creating conflicts. Free the emotions. Clear your mind. If you must make an assumption, assume you know nothing about anything. Listen with your third ear.
- Regularly review Conflict Mastery Actions One, Two, and Three. Clearly defining the conflict makes it easier to resolve. Identifying your expectations, beliefs, wants, and needs gives us a broader range of potential solutions. Playing with the possibilities brings us freedom and reminds us that there is always more available to us than we think.
- Let us know if your circumstances, needs, or desires change. Legal matters can take months or years to resolve. Life doesn’t stop just because your case is stalled. As your circumstances change, so might your priorities. But we won’t know that if you don’t tell us.
- Trust us. We are committed to doing a good job, meeting deadlines, and returning calls or responding to messages as soon as we can. It might seem like we should be available 24/7 because of technological advances, but we are often in court, arbitrations, mediations, meetings, depositions, or training sessions. We can’t always respond immediately.
- Tell us if we’re not meeting your expectations.We understand the legal process can be quite stressful and frustrating. We do what we can to alleviate some of the burden. Yet we base this on experience and best guesses. These might not always work for you. If they don’t, let’s develop something else.
- Pay me us time and in full.We know lawyers have a reputation of being greedy and rolling in money. We think you will find that our fees are very reasonable for the New York City area. If you’re having a cash flow problem, we will work with you on a payment plan. Otherwise, we think one of the best ways to show your appreciation is to pay us.
- Exercise “extreme self-care” while we resolve your matter. There are aspects of the legal process that seem counterintuitive and invasive. You might experience a wide range of difficult emotions, fears, and self-doubt. That is normal whenever you are experiencing something new or in which your future is less within your control. You might need more sleep, a healthier diet, and stronger support while your case is pending. Don’t feel bad about that and take great care of yourself.
- Use your third ear with us. We are not machines. Like you, we need sleep, exercise, meal breaks, time with loved ones, and other replenishment to do our best work for you. And that is what we want to give you.
- Ground yourself in gratitude daily. When something is going “wrong” in our lives, it is easy to lose sight of all the good things around us. We recommend that you practice expressing gratitude every day. Make a list of what you are thankful for and share one or two with a loved ones. This won’t make the negative things in the world go away, but it will make your experience of the world more enjoyable.
Continue Learning About Us
- Media Relations
- What Are Holistic Legal Services?
- What to Expect in a Legal Consultation with Third Ear Conflict Resolution
- How We Collaborate with Other Attorneys
- How We Collaborate with Accountants and Bookkeepers
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