Laurence P. Wilson is a Family Law Attorney in San Francisco, California. He began practicing law in 1975. He has enjoyed the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell AV rating since 1981 and he also was elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers [AAML] that year. He has served as a volunteer Superior Court Family Law Judge Pro Tempore in San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin Counties since 1991. Mr. Wilson lectures frequently to lawyers and other specialty practitioners regarding a variety of Family Law subjects, including collaborative law, collaborative practice and mediation. He has been selected as a Northern California Super Lawyer by San Francisco Magazine.

Mr. Wilson’s practice is limited to collaborative divorce, family law mediation, family law consultations, preparation of pre-marital, marital and post-marital contracts and private judging. With very few exceptions, he no longer accepts new litigation matters. He has conducted successful collaborative divorces in all of the San Francisco Bay Area counties, as well as in Monterey and Los Angeles Counties and he is open to being engaged in collaborative cases in which any of the other members of The San Francisco Collaborative Practice Group have been designated as his collaborative counterpart.

Mediator

Mediators are neutral legal, financial and mental health professionals who can help parties create agreements of many kinds. The mediator is not aligned with a party, favors neither side and is uncommitted to any particular outcome or result.

There does not necessarily have to be a dispute. For example, mediators can help an engaged couple plan their financial future with a premarital (“prenuptial”) agreement, help a married couple restructure their financial future with a postmarital (“postnuptial”) agreement or help a couple who are living together to organize their financial lives with a cohabitation agreement.

Mediators can help separating parents with their parenting plan, and separating partners with their cashflow, their understanding of their finances, their financial future, the separation of their assets, and/or their final Marital Settlement Agreement.

Collaborative Practice

Collaborative Practice, like mediation, allows clients to work together to respectfully resolve disputes outside of court, seeking options that will serve the interests of all clients and other affected persons. If there is to be a continuing relationship among the participants, and creates the possibility for a positive one.

The Collaborative Practice model involves the building of a team of professionals around the client, each having, at the least, their own attorney as the foundation of the team. The process takes place through a series of regular meetings in which the clients have their professionals present to assist them.

All of the professionals are retained with the sole purpose of helping the couple reach an agreement; none of them is permitted to “represent” either person in court. 

Consensual Dispute

Consensual dispute resolution encompasses mediation, Collaborative Practice and processes that are mixes of the two. Consensual dispute resolution does not mean that you have no conflicts and is not just about avoiding adversarial proceedings or staying out of court – it requires a commitment by you and your professionals to high standards of integrity and good faith negotiation to address your issues.

Distinctive Recognition