April 2025 | Evan Williams
The Attorney: Michael Sampson
The Niche: Collaborative divorce
Orlando attorney Michael Sampson walked away from divorce litigation for good at the beginning of 2017 — some 30 years after graduating from law school and 20 years after moving from Lakeland to Orlando to practice family law. His new focus: “collaborative” divorce, an amicable approach to separation pioneered in 1990 by Minnesota attorney Stu Webb.
“What I’d been used to after 30 years or so was people duking it out in court, fighting each other ... making the lawyers rich, and not really helping their families that much,” Sampson says. “I liked (collaborative divorce) so much, by the time I handled a couple of cases, I decided that was all I wanted to do.”
He takes a “full team” approach to collaborative divorce. That starts with an attorney for each side, as required by Florida law. He also insists on including a neutral “team captain,” often someone with a mental health background, who guides the process, and a neutral finance professional. Through voluntary disclosure of finances and during a series of team meetings, couples work toward an uncontested resolution with a judge signing off on a final agreement.
Nearly 90% of collaborative cases reach that agreement — and in his experience 100%. It’s a much less punishing experience both for the couple and their attorney, Sampson says. Clients tend to be more agreeable, open to sharing information and amenable to the wishes of both sides. Sampson recalls one client who died unexpectedly during the process. He found out when the opposing side called to let him know. That kind of courtesy would likely never have happened in a litigated case, he says.
But collaborative divorce is not “a kumbaya, all singing- around-the-campfire process,” he warns. “Even the friendliest ones, it’s not easy.”
And it’s not for everyone. Domestic violence or substance abuse issues can derail a case. “It takes someone who gets to the point where they’re putting the interests of their family (first) and being respectful and trusting enough and trustworthy enough to make the process work. If they’re unable to do that for whatever reasons, then the process wouldn’t work for them. But if they can commit to that, then it does work.”
The niche is growing. Family law attorneys now generally offer it as a potential route for their clients, and students who take the Florida bar exam are required to understand the process.
Sampson’s life is less stressful, too, if in part because now he takes fewer cases. He spends time at the park each morning with his Wheaten Terrier, Leo, plays tennis and the piano, and practices photography.
“Most days are not stressful for me,” Sampson says. “And they accommodate other things I like to do to balance out work and play.”