Uncontested Divorce, Military Divorce and Online Divorce Attorney in Idaho
Taylor Law & Mediation was started by attorney and mediator Robert J. Taylor in Mountain Home, Idaho, in 2013. The firm expanded to Boise, Idaho, in 2020, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 2022. Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC offers uncontested divorces, stepparent adoptions, adult adoptions, and military divorce representation at all three locations
Robert founded the firm on two key principals. The first principal came from listening to a lecture while in law school. The second came from listening to a song by Seattle-based rapper Macklemore.
“The law should be accessible,” University of Idaho College of Law professor Richard H. Seamon explained to his class of first-year law students in 2010. It was a message that stuck with Robert.
Over the next 2.5 years, Robert would come to understand that “accessible” really means “affordable” because access to the courtroom is controlled by access to one’s ability to afford an attorney to represent his or her legal rights.
As the only son to a single mother of four, Robert grew up seeing the results firsthand of what happens when someone is denied access to the court system based on their inability to afford to hire an attorney to navigate the complex legal system for them.
Robert was reminded of this experience again during his final year of law school, where he interned for the University of Idaho College of Law Legal Aid Clinic, a law clinic for victims of domestic violence and low-income clients.
Working with low-income clients, Robert saw firsthand how the lives of his clients were impacted by the justice system and the increased access they had to it as a result of having an intern law student represent them at no cost to them. Lives can be changed in the courtroom, but there’s no chance for that change if clients can’t afford to walk into the courtroom.
With this reality in mind, Robert started thinking about how to best make the law accessible and affordable while operating a private office. He stumbled across the answer by accident, listening to a Macklemore & Ray Lewis album, a random occasion since he listens mostly to country music.
When Macklemore sung, “Change the game, don’t let the game change you” in the song “Make the Money,” Robert knew that the answer was simple: he needed to change the way law is practice, not jump on board with the way it has traditionally been practice.
For the law to be accessible, he realized he had to be accessible. A website and a Facebook page let him be accessible to clients and prospective clients in a way attorneys typically haven’t been in the past. Clients can access him from their cell phones without picking up a phonebook once.
By focusing on mediation as a primary option and not a court of last resort, Taylor Law & Mediation provides a low-cost alternative to traditional litigation. Mediation is less expensive than litigation; it is often quicker and puts the participants in control of the final outcome, not a judge. Mediation not only puts people in control of their case, but it also makes the law accessible to people in a very real way that is often overlooked or ignored.
Robert first got interested in mediation from his work in the clinic. He realized a lot of resources, namely time and money, was spent preparing for litigation when a much better solution would have been just to have the two parties sit down and talk about the handful of areas they disagreed on as opposed to seeking answers in open court.
Finally, at Taylor Law & Mediation, we understand that it’s often one of the most significant events in their life when someone seeks legal counsel. There are three questions almost anyone facing any sort of legal action wants to know:
1. What is the likely outcome of this?
2. How long is this going to take?
3. What is this going to cost me?
The first two answers are hard, or near impossible, to answer, but reasonable estimates can normally be given depending on the circumstances. Giving prospective clients an upfront flat rate quote assures clients are at least able to walk out of their initial meeting with an attorney knowing the answer to at least one of those questions.
