About Us
The Carpool Team is made up of highly-trained and skilled Collaborative Family Law professionals in the areas of law, finance, mental health and child development.
Scroll down to meet just a few of them today!
Chris Osborn
Chris Osborn uses his extensive training as a Superior Court mediator and trained collaborative lawyer to help separating and divorcing couples, deadlocked businesses, and families with inheritance disputes find practical, cost-effective solutions to complex problems. In his 25+ years of practice, including 11 years as an associate and shareholder with Horack Talley in Charlotte, he has helped clients reach amicable resolutions in a wide range of disputes, including separation and divorce, construction, business breakups, and will caveats.
Chris was certified by the N.C. Dispute Resolution Commission as a Superior Court mediator in 2009, and completed his Collaborative Practice training in 2016. From 2012-2015, Chris was an Assistant Professor at the Charlotte School of Law, where he taught “Interviewing, Client Counseling, and Negotiations,” along with first year classes in Contracts and Civil Procedure.
Chris is also the co-founder of ReelTime CLE (www.reeltimecle.com), an internationally-renowned provider of dynamic, interactive CLE workshops, conferences, law firm retreats, and professional development training programs, as well as lawyer coaching services.
Chris Peace
Christopher Peace has practiced with Osborn Conflict Resolution since 2017, bringing a wealth of experience from his work both in civil litigation private practice and as a local government attorney. While serving as an attorney in the Mecklenburg County Attorney’s Office, Chris represented the County in a wide variety of matters, including Youth and Family Services determinations in custody cases involving allegations of abuse or neglect, as well as advising mental health professionals in all aspects of administering Medicaid services (through MeckLINK). Building upon earlier careers in music (performance and recording) and retail business management, Chris Peace favors a practical approach to problem-solving that takes the mystery out of the law with the goal of empowering clients to be active partners in arriving at solutions. He strongly believes that the adversarial nature of litigation only rarely allows for resolution of core conflicts, especially in family matters. For this reason, Chris encourages his family law clients to be open, patient, and focused on the best possible outcomes for all concerned.
While his North Carolina civil litigation experience is broad—including estate matters, employment disputes, business (contract) issues, and more—his practice is currently concentrated on resolution of child custody and visitation issues and representation of various parties-in-interest (such as relatives, guardians, and foster parents) in child protective cases and investigations, frequently involving investigations by local county Department of Social Services (DSS).
Aimee Durant
Aimee Durant has practiced family law in Charlotte, North Carolina since 2015. Through her experience as a litigator, she has learned the value of and need for collaboration in family law. Aimee enjoys helping her clients resolve conflict and move forward without the stress and expense of court. She has found that most people appreciate the control and dignity this brings to their otherwise stressful situation.
Aimee has always been committed to helping her community and has volunteered for several local organizations since moving to Charlotte. While in law school, she was a member of the Pro Bono Project Executive Board and she dedicated over 100 hours to pro bono work. She is excited to be part of an initiative dedicated to helping Charlotte residents resolve their family law disputes efficiently and affordably.
Robin Perrigo-Mermans
Robin Perrigo is a certified mediator and licensed collaborative attorney who offers her clients a unique experience. As a divorced mother, who is now remarried with five children, Robin is able to understand and relate. She is committed to using her personal story and passion to help her clients save time, money, and avoid unnecessary emotional turmoil while guiding them toward resolution.
Robin’s personal frustration with the traditional divorce model inspired her to establish a Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Family Law Firm in Charlotte. ROAD to RESOLUTION uses a client-centered, client-controlled cooperative approach to settling issues. Robin believes in the collaborative process which focuses on respectful communication, voluntary disclosure of all relevant information, and prioritizing the needs of the children to create an enduring agreement that cultivates healthy and positive co-parenting.
Through her own family’s experience with divorce and co-parenting under two parenting agreements she is able to better serve her clients. She is open with her clients and shares the reality of going from one home to two, and the benefit of creating an enduring agreement that is in the best interest of the entire family.
Licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina, Robin is a trained Collaborative Attorney and a Dispute Resolution Commission Certified Mediator. She is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the Carolina Collaborative Law Group.
Irene King
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 North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission 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 seven years at the helm of the organization. She is also an active member of the International Academy of Divorce Professionals and My Collaborative Team.
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.
