Managing a Collaborative Case Thousands of Miles Away
In the era of COVID-19, everyone is just now clamoring to use Zoom and other virtual meeting software to conduct business. However, my Collaborative Divorce colleagues and I were already doing it.
I'm not an active Facebook user. In fact, my generation tends to stay away from it altogether. Baby Boomers are a bit put off by all these social media choices. And Millennials tend to use Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. But, nonetheless, most of us (my husband excluded; go figure!) do have a Facebook account, and sometimes I give in to the temptation to scroll. For hours.
I recently had a professional Team debrief of a Collaborative case that terminated after two four-way meetings, the second at which we signed the Participation Agreement.
Known forever in family law is litigation, the often-quick fallback to failed lawyer-managed negotiation. Negotiations fail (if attempted at all), then go to court and duke it out in front of the judge and may the best parent win.
Then along can Stu Webb from Minnesota in the early 1990s and he changed all that.
With a simple letter, he indicated he would no longer litigate yet continue to take on family law cases. The proviso was, he wouldn’t go to court.
Let us imagine some typical settlement meetings.
Client’s Ambivalence
I looked at her with a stunned look on my face when my client said, “Yes” to the offer her husband had proposed. Just moments before, she said, “No way in hell.” What had changed?
“But that’s not what we wanted!”
In Brazil, every year in February, hundreds of people gather in the City of Lamentations, Capital of the State of Eternal Causes, to attend the Fantastic Disputes Convention. We interviewed the organizers to know a little more about the Convention, and we got some revealing information.
Today I am thinking about the value that IACP provides its current and future members and reflection on a past meeting with my fellow board members.
Here are some takeaways:
By: Chris Farish Co-Chair IACP Research Committee
By Louise E Livesay Member IACP Research Committee