The First Annual Conference of Collaborative Professionals of Washington was a huge success! What a vibrant, progressive group of professionals! And just as I mentioned last week, at the conference there was a session in which Collaborative Professionals and mediators dialogued about how using mediation in the Collaborative process could better serve clients! The discussion forum was well attended and it truly was an effort in co-creation as we explored many options to collaborate! Very exciting!
First we looked at what mediation and Collaborative Law have in common. Both processes are:
- Client- centered
- Interdisciplinary
- Interest based rather than adversarial
We discussed how to create a flexible approach that balances needs of clients and serves clients better by working together. Ideas about how mediation can be used in the Collaborative community are:
- Early Stage facilitating with two Collaborative lawyers (meeting with or without lawyers present depending on the needs of the clients)
- Late stage facilitating to avoid impasses
- Interim agreements
- Case Management to help the case flow easier
- Post decree (parenting issues, child support modifications, spousal maintenance)
Advantages may be:
- Flexible model to meet diverse needs of clients
- Cost savings for clients
- More advocacy by attorneys for clients
- Interdisciplinary approach designed for particular client needs
Thanks to all for participating in this dialogue to discuss progressive ways to work together in order to create a win-win process for clients! A special thanks to Stephen Gaddis and Chris Kane for advancing this joint effort and inviting me to be on the panel with them!
~Debra
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