Underwood’s Family Law practice focuses on divorce, child custody and support, adoption, paternity, and termination of parental rights. Underwood attorneys prioritize personalized service and attention to detail for our clients. We believe in keeping our clients informed of all developments in their case, empowering them to actively engage in decisions that affect the outcome.

Underwood provides responsive and individualized service that caters to the unique needs of our clients. We have a strong belief in resolving cases through mediation or negotiated settlement when possible, giving our clients greater control over the outcome. Our attorneys are trained in mediation, collaborative law, and arbitration, which are processes that can help parties resolve their family disputes outside of the court system. In the event that settlement efforts fail, our attorneys have extensive experience in trying cases, to further favorable results for our clients.

Mediator Services | Alternatives to Litigation: Mediation, Arbitration, and Collaborative Law

In mediation, a neutral third party facilitates a settlement between the parties. Mediation can occur before and anytime during a suit. Mediated settlement agreements which, with few exceptions, the parties and the courts must follow. In arbitration, the arbitrator stands in the place of the judge at the request of the parties. After hearing the evidence and arguments of the parties in a manner designed to be quicker and cheaper than going to court, the arbitrator makes awards in the suit to which the parties are bound. In collaborative law, the parties agree not to go to court on any contested matter, cooperate in gathering information for their case, and work through a specific process with allied professionals to reach an amicable resolution of their suit. Collaborative law also offers savings of time and money for parties.

For attorneys and parties who are not our clients, we can mediate and arbitrate their lawsuits with the benefit of over thirty years of experience in family law. These services are available both within the Panhandle and elsewhere in the State of Texas. 

Underwood represents clients in mediations and in collaborative lawsuits as alternative options to litigation for resolving family law disputes. We review these options with our clients, discussing the pros and cons of each method. While less common, we also litigate suits that are in arbitration.