COLLABORATIVE ACADEMY
February 20, 2020 | 12 Noon CST
Live online webinar
What I Wish I Would Have Known
Register Here
Experienced Collaborative practitioners discuss what they have learned about the collaborative process since their first cases and offer tips and approaches you might find useful. One CE (free!) for attorney members.
Save the Date - WIPCOD
Kathleen McNamara, PhD
Recognizing Trauma and Promoting Resilience in Family Court
Bill Eddy, LCSW, JD
New Skills for Managing High-Conflict Personalities
Visit WIPCOD for more details/registration
Pay 2020 Membership Dues online - Visit the "
A revamped Membership Committee was charged with tasks to address the requirements for membership and member expectations, along with mentoring and helping new members from "training to practice." The Committee chair is Susan Schramka, PsyD and the chair of the New Collaborators' Division of the committee is Elizabeth Matola, MSW, LCSW.
A new Public Policy Committee was formed to address legislative and other policy issues with a special emphasis on developing a plan to seek the enactment of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA) in Wisconsin. The Committee Chair is Tiffany Highstrom, JD, a member active in Legislative Council and State Bar legislative efforts.
Continuing with its responsibility for Building Blocks training as well as other training in the Collaborative Process is the Training Committee, chaired by Megann Hendrix, JD, a current Board Member and Past Chair of CFLCW.
In 2019 a Best Practices Committee was formed to address updating the various practice materials available to members, and it is being expanded to examine ethical standards for CFLCW members, as well as collaborative principles and guidelines. The committee is chaired by Rhonda Hazen, JD, a current Board Member and Dane Collab Group Chair.
Past CFLCW Chair and current Board Member Gaylene Stingl, CPA will serve as Chair of the reconstituted Public Education Committee. The committee will focus upon programs and activities designed to improve the public's awareness and understanding of the collaborative process as well as outreach to other professionals.
2020 is the 2oth anniversary year of CFLCW. Incorporated in August of 2000, the Council is one of the oldest collaborative practice groups and has a rich history of innovative training, programming and national and international leadership. We asked a number of members for their reflections which appear below. Check back frequently as more will be added in the coming days! See all the comments on a special page 
As a child psychologist I worked with many children who were adversely affected by their parent’s divorce; most typically because the parents put them in the middle, did not protect them from parental conflict, and did not support the children’s relationship with both parents. Collaborative divorce offered an opportunity to intervene with families before the damage was done. Not necessarily an easier divorce process for parents or the professionals involved but almost always a better process and outcome for children. The atmosphere in the formative years of collaborative divorce was one of interdisciplinary hope and excitement. It was gratifying to work as part of a team of divorce professionals and families with the shared goal of helping the families move through their divorce and achieve a child focused outcome.
Attending my very first collaborative training was an eye opening experience. I sat at a table of mental health professionals who shared stories of their clients' stress, frustration, fear and lack of understanding as to the outcomes they had experienced in their divorce. These MHP's expressed their hope that the collaborative process might provide an opportunity for better, healthier outcomes for people and families going through a profoundly transitional time of change. Professionally participating in a process that might result in a more positive experience for divorcing couples and families in transition became a mission for the work I do.
At first I was not drawn to collaborative – divorce practice was supposed to be strategically and substantively combative. But, I became impressed by the colleagues who sincerely wanted to work together to find good results for both parties, and I was persuaded that the model with coaches and financial neutrals offered the best help from the right professionals, instead of lawyers posturing in those roles. IACP conferences also were fantastic.
When I first learned of collaborative it seemed to me that this was something that made total sense and it was one of those things where you wonder why someone had not thought of it earlier. It was such a departure from the way things were done. Like many of my colleagues I was intrigued over a system that seemed to be simply more logical, rationale and family friendly. The level of activity and commitment to this new idea was exciting, challenging and at times frustrating but we all knew this was something very different and promising. The twenty years seems to have passed so quickly, and I hope collaborative grows and evolves well into the future.
Before I joined CFLCW in 2002, it was clear to me that the old system of "adversarial “ law only served to make problems worse during divorce. I was attracted to a new way to help families navigate divorce and come out on the other end with skills to help them move forward. The other people who were interested in the movement were the frosting on the cake. They were exactly the colleagues I was looking to connect with. They were dedicated, bright, and skilled. They were also willing to donate lots of hours to developing trainings and growing the movement. It was an exciting time!
I was excited to discover a process that recognized and supported staying out of Court as a better solution for families in transition. It also validated my long held opinion that being a “good lawyer” did not, by definition, mean needing to participate in contested litigation.
Collaborative practice intrigued me when I first heard about it 20 years ago. I was tired of the adversarial process and feeling like I was a weapon in divorce battles. The shift to becoming a positive problem-solver with a goal of helping families was a perfect fit with my personal values. I was also drawn to the value of working together with mental health and financial professionals to help couples create the best possible outcomes for their families. There was a mixture of excitement and skepticism amongst divorce professionals.