When I joined my firm three years ago, the managing attorney, Adam B. Cordover, preferred and advocated for out-of-court dispute resolution, including collaborative practice. We still had many litigated cases. Not every client, spouse, and other attorney is willing to agree to a more peacemaking approach, especially when they don’t know much about it.  But we had faith that we were on to something, and that if given the opportunity and knowledge, more people would choose collaborative law. In 2015, we changed our name to Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm, and began practicing exclusively in out-of-court dispute resolution,...

The process of divorce can be problematic for any couple, but it is particularly difficult for couples whose psychological well-being is threatened by the ending of the relationship. Many high-conflict couples find that when they have exhausted options in making their relationship work, their core anxieties are exacerbated by a divorce process that generally approaches separation in a zero-sum manner. This paper is describes who these couples are and explores why divorce is so threatening to their psychologies. An additional purpose is to propose an approach that facilitates an amicable separation. Such an approach involves a collaborative...

Archetypes at the Negotiating Table By Theresa Beran Kulat First articulated by the great philosopher, Plato, then more fully revealed by modern psychoanalyst Carl Jung, archetypes hold keys to unlocking the mysteries of a person’s life and can provide insights that assist negotiations at the collaborative table. After a very brief introduction to the world of archetypes, this article describes a methodology for using the language of archetypes to increase one’s self-awareness which can improve satisfaction with one’s personal and professional life. Then it offers a context, using awareness of archetypes, to improve effectiveness during the...