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For decades everyone
involved in divorce has known there has to be a better way than
using the courts to resolve divorce disputes. Back in 1990,
it took Stu Webb, a senior divorce lawyer in Minneapolis to
really turn things around. After more than 20 years practicing
divorce law "the old way" he came up with the brilliant idea
of working with the other lawyer as a team and getting the couple
to agree not to go to court or even threaten to go to court.
That simple idea has spawned what is now a revolution in the
way divorces are handled all across North America, reaching
into Europe and soon worldwide.
The inter-disciplinary model of collaborative practice had its
seeds in a small "think tank" of psychologists (including Peggy
Thomspon, Rodney Nurse, and a social worker, Nancy Ross) in
California in the early 1990's. It was not until lawyers began
practising collaborative law in the San Francisco Bay Area in
the mid-1990's that the psychologists had a team of non-litigious
lawyers to work with, and the inter-disciplinary model of collaborative
practice was begun. The psychologists and social workers joined
the team as divorce coaches and child specialists, and financial
specialists were also introduced.
In the end of 1998, a small group of lawyers in Vancouver began
meeting to put together a collaborative group. In the summer
of 1999, they sponsored the first collaborative inter-disciplinary
training with Stu Webb, Peggy Thompson and Pauline Tesler. The
Vancouver Collaborative Divorce Group was formed after this
training, and has been an inter-disciplinary group since that
time. Since the Vancouver group has grown as an inter-disciplinary
group, it brings the strengths of all the professionals together
in helping families restructure.
Since the year 2000, Collaborative practice groups have begun
across North America, and are now beginning to form in Europe.
Some of these groups are lawyer only groups, and some practice
in the inter-disciplinary model similar to the Vancouver group.
In the inter-disciplinary model, it is possible for couples
to enter the collaborative divorce process either through the
lawyer's door or through the coach's door, depending on the
needs and inclination fo the couple.
The result is a modern, flexible process which is customized
for each couple. Couples can work with professionals that help
reduce conflict, increase communication, and work towards resolution
that meets everyone's needs. |
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