"Collaborative" is such an appealing word, that sometimes attorneys who have had a short introduction to the field, or who don't know any better, think, "That must be a good thing, I'd like to do that" and "If I advertise that I do Collaborative Law then I'll get clients interested in that." Consumers beware!
In law school attorneys learn to fight. Law school is three years of intense and exhaustive training. Collaborative law is very different. When one has gone through law school, and had lots of experience litigating and fighting, it is not easy to change all your habits overnight. Fortunately, the founders of Collaborative Law have been practicing exclusively in collaborative law for over 20 years. They have written books and created organizations that help lawyers become better collaborators. Over the years, as Collaborative Law has spread around the country and world, certain standards have been created and lessons have been learned. There is a huge wealth of research, knowledge, and experience percolating behind the scene.
Attorneys learn about the latest research and lessons learned by others by reading books, attending trainings, and participating in international, state and local practice groups where there is a dedication to improving collaborative practice. Attorneys who invest in this kind of self-improvement are of course more likely to a) have answers when there are problems b) have self-screened themselves in or out of the field and c) have access to help when they need it. Many attorneys get a short introduction to collaborative law at a lunch meeting or a half day seminar and are attracted to the concept. In no way are those persons trained and ready to do a collaborative case successfully.
Here in Spokane we are fortunate to have a very active and progressive practice group called Spokane County Collaborative Professionals ("SCCP"). We meet regularly to help improve each other's performance. We have a detailed and long set of protocols backed by years of experience. Every paid attorney member of SCCP receives a copy of the protocols. Many of us are members of Collaborative Professionals of Washington and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals ("IACP"}. All of us have meet minimum membership requirements have 30 hours of mediation training and have undergone two full days of training. Most of us have many more hours of advanced training with internationally respected experts. For instance, John Burke, has attended training in Toronto, San Diego, and Minneapolis.
Over the nearly 25 years collaborative law has been developing, throughout the hundreds of practice groups around the world, and in the writings and teachings of the leading scholars and experts in the field, certain consensuses have developed about what constitutes collaborative practice, how it is best practiced, and how to deal with the challenges of the field. Be very concerned about any lawyer claiming to be a "collaborative lawyer" if they don't know these standards, don't know the leading research in the field, or who want to cut corners or think certain aspects of collaborative practice are not necessary.
So the best thing you can do to find out if an attorney claiming to be "Collaborative" is likely to be successful guide for you through the unchartered territory of your divorce is to ask some questions? For instance: 1) where were you trained? 2) how much training have you had? 3)are you a member of the SCCP and IACP 4) how many collaborative law cases have you successfully resolved between two fully trained attorneys with a written disqualification agreement.
You can find out much more about really good collaborative lawyers are all about at www.collaborativepractice.com and LessHurtDivorce.com.
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