(already subscribe? log in).

Dedham couple start mediation practice

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

February 05, 2012|By Paul E. Kandarian

Chouteau Levine

MEDIATION FOR FAMILIES: Divorce can be painful - both emotionally and financially if the matter drags out in court. The husband-and-wife attorney team of William M. Levine and E. Chouteau Levine of Dedham last month launched a business to mediate disputes involving family law, such as divorce and probate, before they get to court.

Negotiating a settlement in a neutral setting, they say, allows the clients to head into court with an agreement in hand, which saves them money in legal fees and makes judges happy because it doesn’t clog an already crowded caseload.

Chouteau Levine should know: She is a retired associate justice of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, and before that was a partner at Brown Rudnick Freed & Gesmer in Boston. Her husband is retired from the Boston firm of Lee & Levine. Both went through divorces themselves; they have been married to each other for eight years.

Their new business, Levine Dispute Resolution Center, with locations in Westwood and Northampton, is unlike many other husband-and-wife legal mediation services, Chouteau Levine said, in that is the only one specializing in family law. Her practice focused on high-net-worth divorce and complex child-custody cases, she said, while her husband has more than 30 years of experience in private family law practice.

“Divorce is a fact of life,’’ she said. “It’s our honest belief that by facilitated negotiation, a far more satisfactory solution can be arrived at.’’

The cost saving of mediating a solution ahead of time can be substantial, she said. At her husband’s law firm, his hourly rate was $750. With hundreds of hours spent on complex, drawn-out cases, the final tally would be huge, she said. The Levines’ charge for mediating disputes is $400 an hour.

“That’s usually split between each of the parties,’’ she said. “It’s hard to quantify how much people can save, but with us you’re paying for the mediation here, versus hundreds of hours to fight out a contested matter in court.’’

Both retired from their jobs late last year and started their new business because, Chouteau Levine said, “we were too young to really retire. But the other thing is, this is what we truly believe in. This way of resolving disputes is the most humane and efficient way to resolve situations that can be very, very unhappy.

“Nothing is more stressful than a bad divorce. . . . ’’ she said. “I saw many cases before me of people just not trying, and the destruction to the family emotionally and financially is enormous.’’