Solutions for Massachusetts Families That Make a Difference

Find your path forward without the pain and expense of a lengthy court battle. We'll help you find the right resolution for you and your family.

Our Family Law Services

Are you thinking “maybe things will get better?”

Deep inside you probably know that things will not get better. In reality, you know your situation will, at best, remain the same but likely worsen. Stress and frustration levels rise, conflict becomes the norm or people just avoid each other. Parents hope their kids don’t notice anything, but of course, most of them are highly attuned to family dynamics.

We understand the emotions you are experiencing and how things feel overwhelming when you face so many unknowns. We are laser-focused on resolving divorce and other family law matters with a modern and sensible approach. We don’t think it makes sense for most people to pay lawyers a hefty retainer followed by seemingly endless additional bills. Legal fees can quickly grow into tens of thousands of dollars and even into six figures in some instances. While this is good for law firms, it is not typically what is necessary or good for most families.

In contrast, we help our clients resolve their divorce and family law cases through alternatives such as mediation, collaborative divorce, and skilled negotiations. We provide flexible fee options, including fixed fees for much of our work because we think it is better when you know how much something will cost.

Sometimes, mediation or other less-adversarial approaches are not possible. When that happens, we represent a limited number of clients who require assistance in court, while continuing to identify favorable settlement options. We have close relationships with highly skilled litigators if your case is one of the few that requires a trial. However, we resolve nearly 100 % of our mediation cases and less than 5% of all divorces in Massachusetts end in a trial.

The next step is up to you. Whether you want to learn more about our divorce mediation services, explore the collaborative divorce process, or discover ways to reduce the stress between yourself and your child’s other parent, we invite you to contact us to schedule an initial meeting. For your convenience, telephone or video consultations are available, in addition to in-person meetings with appropriate safeguards in place during everyone’s least favorite virus. We look forward to connecting soon and helping you start your next phase.

Stephen McDonough, Esq.

Attorney and Mediator Stephen McDonough is the founder of Next Phase Legal and works closely with clients facing divorce and other family conflict.