Author Archives: Michael Zeytoonian

The Space Between: What can be done between a dispute arising and filing a lawsuit

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Michael Zeytoonian

When you read the advice of Abraham Lincoln about being a lawyer, you realize that the role of lawyers in Lincoln’s view was more expanded than someone you hire to file a suit, conduct litigation and (rarely) try the case. Lincoln saw lawyers’ role… Continue reading →

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Know your dispute resolution options before you choose a course of action

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Michael Zeytoonian

Most people think that when they get into a legal dispute, they have to file a lawsuit. They retain a lawyer, often a litigator, and start an expensive, time-consuming process called litigation. “I’ll sue.” “I’ll take you to court.” It’s … Continue reading →

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Collaborative Law in Civil Disputes and Basketball’s Triangle Offense

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Michael Zeytoonian

This blog post is in honor of “March Madness”, i.e. the NCAA’s annual basketball championship, which is basketball at its best. For basketball junkies like me, there was a great article in the Fall, 2013 issue of Good magazine about the Triangle … Continue reading →

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Three Misconceptions about Using Collaborative Law in employment disputes

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Michael Zeytoonian

Over 2013, we heard a few reasons from employers and companies for why they would forego using Collaborative Law – a much more efficient dispute resolution process than litigation – and opt for litigation or arbitration instead. For any employe… Continue reading →

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If you and your lawyer really do want to negotiate…

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Michael Zeytoonian

In every dispute a client calls me in to work to resolve, my first inquiry with the other side is to discuss the possibility of early resolution. If we can explore this option even before any litigation has been initiated, it’s even better. The other… Continue reading →

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Do our words send the message we want to convey to accomplish what we want?

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Michael Zeytoonian

How often have we said or written something and quickly or soon realized that the message the recipient got was not what we wanted to convey? In the e-communications world, it happens all the time. This disconnect is assisted by the fact that how we co… Continue reading →

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Legal disputes are parts of something greater

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Michael Zeytoonian

What if we began to see disputes as a small part of something bigger? If we viewed them as a point along a spectrum with a greater continuum? If we placed the dispute within the context of one or more larger relationships? When we do this, we free ours… Continue reading →

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So What is this Different Kind of Legal Advocacy?

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Michael Zeytoonian

One reason we changed the name of our firm recently to Dispute Resolution Counsel was to highlight the role that lawyers play in representing their clients in an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes. The role, approach and technique of a lawy… Continue reading →

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True Legal Counselors – Back to the Future

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Michael Zeytoonian

What is a lawyer’s role in serving the needs of his or her clients? What do our clients want from us as their legal counsel? Maybe the better question is this: What do our clients need us to be for them? I’ve given this a lot of thought in nearly 2… Continue reading →

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So who is your primary care legal counsel?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Michael Zeytoonian

In our last blog, we suggested that people approach resolving legal disputes the way they approach making medical decisions.  The starting point is to have a “primary care lawyer”, a true legal counselor, just as we have a primary care physician. … Continue reading →

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