Divorce is a transition. It does not have to be war. Irene King is an experienced Collaborative Divorce Lawyer, North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Family Law and Certified Family Financial Mediator. As a family lawyer and as a daughter embroiled in her parents’ divorce, Irene has endured the devastating and traumatic fallout of a traditional divorce where people think they are seeking fairness, justice and to have their story heard in a courtroom. What people do not recognize when they hire a traditional divorce lawyer is that they are signing up for an approach that uses 19th century court tactics to battle it out at whatever cost. The cost is that children, families and communities suffer in a system that perpetuates conflict.
In 2015, after litigating cases for over a decade, Irene stopped litigating completely and founded King Collaborative Family Law, where she guides clients in resolving all family conflict outside of the courtroom. The collaborative process is a cutting edge and responsible approach for divorcing couples. It gives them the opportunity to consciously choose a private, confidential process that serves their highest needs and priorities, promotes the well-being of their children, allows them to problem-solve and communicate more effectively to move forward and rebuild their lives, preserves the family finances and resources, and keeps costs down as compared to litigation.
There are so many benefits of a collaborative divorce that one of Irene’s goals is to ensure that one day collaborative will be the first choice for families in transition and the adversarial process will be the last resort.
In addition to her collaborative divorce practice, Irene negotiates and prepares settlement documents such as Premarital, Postmarital and Cohabitation Agreements. In her role as a mediator, Irene thoughtfully helps people solve their disputes and stay out of the courtroom.
Originally from Indiana, Irene graduated summa cum laude from Miami University of Ohio in 2000 with a BA in political science and a minor in vocal music performance. Irene earned her JD from UNC School of Law in Chapel Hill, NC in 2004 and moved to Charlotte the same year to begin practicing family law. Irene is a past President and Executive Board member of the Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals and made it her mission to expand the membership during her 6 years at the helm of the organization. She is also an active member of the International Academy of Divorce Professionals.
Irene loves to sing classical and all types of music, has sung the National Anthem at Charlotte sporting events and is a frequent singer at Naturalization ceremonies for the Western District of NC.
