Happy New Year! Good bye 2025, phew.

Well, the Highlands Law Group (HLG) wrapped up 2025 with a bang! Among many other adventures, Senior Attorney Brent D. Harris handled a multi-day contentious Guardianship/Conservatorship trial down in Prescott with skilled opposing counsel. It was a lot of work, but we firmly believe in our client's cause, and the medical neglect and financial exploitation of the proposed ward.

We were also asked to mediate a highly contentious business divorce between a couple of Northern AZ business owners who had used an on-line operating agreement to avoid attorney's fees up front. Counsel for both sides, as well as the law-trained mediator all agreed it was one of the most confusing and oddest operating agreements we'd seen in our collective decades of experience. Unfortunately for the owners, saving money up front led to hiring 3 attorneys on the back end to get things sorted. After a lot of heavy lifting and spirited good faith negotiation, we were able to mediate a separation that left all sides able to pursue their own separate paths.

This is why we at HLG believe so firmly in non-litigation options - negotiation, mediation, etc. Using a settlement conference format where each side provided Mr. Harris with a couple page memorandum and relevant exhibits enabled him to hit the ground running so we used the full 4 hours without spending a lot of time familiarizing the mediator with the history and issues. Doing our homework ahead of time was a solid benefit to the parties.

We brought on several new clients for estate plan drafting, revising, updating and review and hope to continue to provide these services to even more Highlanders who could use our decades of experience in these matters - plus its way less stressful than litigation, and it's nice to be able to do both.

On a lighter note, we were able to make a presentation at the Bluffs Assisted Living Facility in Flagstaff (thank you Elizabeth V.!) where the attendees asked great questions and we had a fun, productive conversation (rather than a boring lecture which some of these can be). Can't wait to go back to further that conversation.

Heck of an end to 2025 - excited for 2026. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need us - we're happy to chat and see if we can be of assistance.