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Written by Kathleen B. Vetrano, Esquire
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Page 1 of 4 A potentially effective settlement tool in a divorce case is the "four-way meeting." This is an informal meeting among the divorcing spouses and their lawyers to discuss and try to resolve the outstanding issues in a case.
All four persons need not be present at all times. For example, if a spouse is not ready, emotionally, to confront the other spouse, the meeting can take place with one spouse not participating at all for the time being or such spouse can be in a different room, but within easy access for consultation.
Among the reasons for having a four-way meeting are the following: Most divorces are emotionally laden, and although in most jurisdictions fault is not an issue in the equitable distribution of marital assets, the parties' perception of fault is what drives the case and pervades the divorce proceedings. A four-way meeting provides parties the opportunity to vent emotions generated by such perception. More important, though, is that beyond the immediate benefit to each party of telling his side of the "story," this venting can highlight a case's bones of contention and thus provide a clearer path to settlement.
The meeting's informality mitigates the adversarial nature of the litigation and replaces it, to a significant extent, with a problem-solving atmosphere. Among the benefits is expedited discovery because the gaming aspect normally attendant a deposition is largely absent.
The quick exchange characteristic of a personal meeting often allows an opponent to disclose important information that a party, in a communication with his lawyer alone, would either not provide or not express in the same way. Thus, the meeting gives a lawyer the perspective on a case that either she would not otherwise have or that she would gain only after repeated, independent communications with her client and opposing counsel.
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