Two goats set out to cross a bridge…

National Public Radio recently reported on the story of two goats who got stuck on a bridge. It seems these two goats left the confinement of their yard to explore what lay on the other side of a bridge. But the route they chose was an 8 inch support girder beam under a major highway bridge over a ravine, and there was an obstacle partway across. The first goat in front was able to turn around, but the goat behind was stuck. Now they were head to head, each unable to move forward without butting the other goat to its destruction.

This is such an apt metaphor for people in litigation.

Most people don’t intend to get into such a jam when they start down the litigation pathway. They just need to change their circumstances, to cross the bridge in hopes of finding greener pastures, and believe a lawsuit is the only route to do this. And sometimes they make it successfully across the bridge. But sometimes they encounter obstacles that delay or block the route to their success, and the only way for one to survive is for the other to be sacrificed.

Fortunately, our goats ended up safe and sound. They were rescued by a team of creative employees of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. These men and women collaborated to borrow equipment and try new techniques with a single goal—to bring both goats to safety. You can read more about their story here from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and here on NPR.

This is what the collaborative team does for its clients. The attorneys and neutrals work together to assess what each client needs, to facilitate creative solutions to meet those needs, and don’t quit until each of the clients is safely on the other side of the conflict.

If you would like pictures of the team who rescued the goats, click here. If you would like pictures of the collaborative team who can assist you in your legal problem, click here. We’d like to help you safely cross your bridge.