Stephen C. Brewer Attorney at Law, P.C.

How you handle your divorce today will affect you and your family tomorrow – and for all time. That’s why Family Law attorney Stephen C. Brewer believes in and practices Collaborative Family Law. "It’s caused a paradigm shift in the way I practice," he says. Brewer’s interest in the process was piqued four years ago, when a prospective client called his office and asked if he practiced Collaborative Family Law. "At that time, I’d never even heard of it. At first, I thought she was asking if I could work with other attorneys. But it became clear that she meant a whole other way of practicing law."

Once Brewer learned more about Collaborative Family Law, he discovered that some lawyers in Tarrant County were already practicing this new, hybrid form of alternative dispute resolution. He took the training and today handles about 50% of his family-law cases using the Collaborative process. "Going from an adversary who tried to undo the other person’s case to working with people to try and come up with the very best resolution for both parties just really appealed to me," Brewer explains.

With Collaborative Family Law, each party retains legal representation, but they and their attorneys agree from the outset that the team will not litigate; instead they work together towards a resolution that benefits all parties concerned, especially the children. Collaborative Family Law offers the client flexibility that just doesn’t exist when a case goes before a judge, says Brewer. Clients can also be as flexible as they wish with issues like child support or custody, since nothing happens without the approval of both parties in the Collaborative process. This transparency that can be very helpful in helping clients come up with a resolution, explains Brewer. Clients also benefit more collectively from Collaborative Law than they would from the adversarial process, provided both parties understand that they need to work with the other side.

A sole practitioner, Brewer offers his clients 17 years of legal experience in the Mid-cities area. "This is home to me," he says. "I know the people, I care about the people… I’m very active in my community." A caring, compassionate person by nature, Brewer helps his clients by educating them about the legal process and encouraging them along the way. "One of the things I tell people is that divorce doesn’t end a family," he says. "It’s just you’ve got the two heads of the family in different households." This, Brewer says, brings new and difficult challenges: "But it doesn’t mean the family is over… I try to help my clients get through their divorce on steady ground so they can move forward in their lives with their relationships intact."

Brewer advises those considering divorce to do their homework before acting or reacting. Talk to one or more lawyers to find out what your rights are, he says. It’s also helpful to get as many opinions about your situation as possible from non-legal associates. "Talk also to friends and to someone in a counseling role, like a therapist or pastor. You don’t have to do what they say, but I think it’s good to get as many opinions as you can at this time." Many people going through divorce act in isolation because they feel so alone, he adds. "They don’t reach out and mine all the wonderful things they can get from the relationships they have in place. As a result, they go through a harder time than they need to." Secondly, says Brewer, it’s important to ask yourself if divorce is really what is necessary here to change the situation for the better, or if something else likely to work.

Brewer offers a complimentary initial consultation of up to 30 minutes so clients have the opportunity to ask questions, get answers, and build up a comfort level. From a practical point of view, it’s helpful if clients download the intake forms from Brewer’s Web site prior to their first consultation. "But even if they don’t, we go over the basics of what’s happening that has brought them to me," he says. "With family-law matters, I talk to them about how their case would be handled in the adversarial process. Then I tell them about the Collaborative Law process – and how that would differ.

"Today, I’m the one telling my clients about Collaborative Law and seeing their surprise and interest," he says. Stephen Brewer can serve your divorcing needs with honesty, integrity and compassion in the areas of Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Colleyville, South Lake, Grapevine, as well as in Denton, Parker and Johnson counties.

For more information or to book a consultation, contact:

112 Bedford Road, Suite 116
Bedford, Texas, 76022-6297
Phone: (817) 282-5533
Fax: (817) 282-5534
E-mail: scbrewer@brewerlaw.net
Web site: www.brewerlaw.net

Stephen C. Brewer has written the following faqs:

• "What is Collaborative Law?"
• "What is probate?"