A properly formulated apology can both provide consolation and restore integrity between clients in dispute resolution. Facilitators can encourage apologies to clear the air, relieve stress and create an atmosphere of improved communication to achieve settlement. In addition to these substantial process benefits, an apology has the potential to transform the participants through neurological changes which impact the attitude of everyone at the table. The facilitator, in collaboration or mediation, has an opportunity to address barriers to communication by recognizing that particular incidents or events may be at the heart of conflict and...

I have always been a trial lawyer.  And I am, among other things, a family lawyer.  So, in the old days, I used to do divorces pro bono because it was an easy way for me to give back to my community.  And I believe in giving back to the community.  So that was a no-brainer.  After I a couple of years giving back in this fashion, I became dis-enamored with the concept.  Why?  Well, when your lawyer is free, and when the opposing party is representing himself because he is too poor to afford the luxury of a lawyer, that leaves YOU BOTH free to fight over every little thing, including the broken dishwasher.  Oy, vey!  So I told our local...

What makes for effective Collaborative Practice?  The author shares thoughts gleaned from a personal journey.  [part 1 is here] Good Practice Group health is essential to the health of Collaborative Practice as a whole. Most of the energy that we put into our practice group work involves intra-Practice Group relations.  “Intra” denotes “inside” or “internal”.  Intra-Practice Group relations describes everything we do individually within each of our practice groups, from attending meetings, studying Collaborative literature, attending trainings, networking, public speaking, making presentations, and developing relationships with other...

BEGINNING ANEW COLLABORATIVELY Not all divorcing spouses want to engage in nasty court battles. Such is the case of Tyler Nelson and Pamela Burton, who decided to end their marriage on an amicable basis without consuming years in costly and contentious litigation.  They decided to use a form of private dispute resolution known as collaborative divorce for their child’s sake, under the tutelage of trained professionals, to forge a new and different bond as co-parents for the rest of their lives. And, on September 20, 2013, they set a precedent as the first pro bono collaborative divorce ever completed in the state of Florida. [The term...

What makes for effective Collaborative Practice?  The author shares thoughts gleaned from a personal journey.  Prelude: I recently travelled to the place I was born, Omaha, NE, to visit my father, to attend my 35th High School Reunion, and to meet with members of the Collaborative Practice Nebraska practice group to learn about the state of Collaborative Practice in my hometown. Going Home. This trip proved to be fertile ground indeed, so much so that I have organized my thoughts into three parts.  This one is about doing the little things. I had a chance encounter in Omaha with a young woman named Deb, the receptionist for Kelle Westland,...

The OCFLA[1] was originally conceived in 2007, by members of a Collaborative Law sub-committee of a Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution for Children and Families.  Five (5) years later, the 129th General Assembly passed the Ohio Collaborative Family Law Act (OCFLA), effective on March 22, 2013.[2]  In so doing, the legislature provided Ohio families with a common sense approach to avoiding antagonistic and costly divorce litigation.  The legislature saw fit to codify what is commonly known as Collaborative Practice[3] and added this contractually-based, voluntary method for solving family law issues, to...