This law and mediation practice is devoted exclusively helping clients make peace.
Substantive areas of practice are limited to:
Elder law:
Legal documents to manage distribution of estates (e.g. “estate planning” and last will and testament)
Legal documents needed to plan for disability or old age (e.g. durable powers of attorney)
Legal documents needed to plan care for needs of special needs adult (e.g. special needs trusts)
Legal documents needed to declare desires regarding medical care or treatment (e.g. health care powers of attorney, living wills)
Probate court representation:
Estate administration
Court actions to request appointment of Guardian or Conservator for a vulnerable or special needs adult
Peaceable divorce (all parties are committed to principles of fairness, seek a just and workable solution, and work to resolve all issues prior to filing of court papers)
Mediated divorce
Collaborative divorce
Uncontested divorce
Legal solutions for families already in agreement:
Family adoption
Name changes
Amicable or mediated modifications to custody or parenting plans
Mediation and conflict coaching
Mediation for any parties at any stage of conflict, whether simply to discuss an uncomfortable topic or to resolve a lawsuit
Mediation for any organization or congregation that needs a skilled, neutral moderator
Ms. Skinner earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of South Carolina and has been admitted to the practice of law in South Carolina since 1984. She started her solo, private practice in 2009, shortly after returning to the USA after living in the People’s Republic of China for several years.
Prior to living in China, Skinner had worked as an attorney in the following positions: Law Clerk to the Honorable Randall T. Bell of the S.C. Court of Appeals (1984), Staff Attorney for the S.C. Court of Appeals (1984-1986), Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the S.C. Attorney General (1986 – 1989 and 1992 – 1995), Associate General Counsel for the S.C. State Budget and Control Board (1995 – 1997), and Hearing Advisor for the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (2001 – 2003). As a result of that experience, Skinner has substantive knowledge in many areas of law and types of law practice. However, there is much more to Alexandria Skinner than a one dimensional focus on law. She put her career on hold for several years when her children were small, has been primary caregiver for an elderly adult, and has always actively participated in volunteer activities in her community. For example, Skinner has served as both Elder and Deacon in her local church, has served as Moderator of the Peacemaking Committee for Trinity Presbytery since 2009, presently serves on the Board of the Citizen’s Center for Public Life, and presently serves on the Elder Law Committee of the S.C. Bar Association. Additionally, between 1997 and 2000, Skinner studied philosophy with an emphasis in medical ethics at the University of South Carolina, completing 21 graduate level semester hours and working as a graduate research assistant at the University of South Carolina Center for Bioethics.
Skinner is also a highly trained mediator. She first studied mediation in the early 1980’s, and met the criteria for certification by the S.C. Supreme Court in the mid-1990’s. Presently certified as a Family Court Mediator by the S.C. Commission on Arbitrator and Mediator Certification, she has pursued additional training in numerous specialized areas of mediation such as elder mediation, mediation of IEP meetings and special education issues, mediation for church congregations and in Christian conflict transformation, community mediation, and she is certified as a Healthy Congregations facilitator. In her professional capacity as a mediator, Skinner is an active member of the Family and Elder Sections of the Association for Conflict Resolution and is a member of the Academy of Professional Family Mediators.
Skinner is also trained and certified by the International Association of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) as a collaborative divorce attorney and mediator. Collaborative divorce is a new model of divorce in which each party has an attorney to represent them, but the parties agree to resolve their conflict out of court. Part of this process involves using neutral professionals to assist the parties in achieving positive results. Skinner also incorporates use of neutral professionals, as appropriate, to support parties in mediation.
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