Are we listening? What clients say they want. (Part 1 of 8) -- Hey Team! We’re valuable to clients. Why don’t they remember this?
By: Deborah Clemmensen, Member IACP Research Committee
By: Deborah Clemmensen, Member IACP Research Committee
Recently, I was invited to a client lunch with a financial adviser trained in Collaborative Practice, with whom I work, and to whom I've referred several clients for assistance in both Collaborative matters and mediations. To my surprise and delight, I was seated at the table next to a former client (*Mary). To say that I did not recognise her would be an understatement. She literally looked like a new woman, and not because she had aged during the approximately eight years since I worked with her.
As I look back on my initial introduction to Collaborative Practice, the word “collaborate” held a multitude of meanings for me, and at the same time, much ambiguity as well. That became ever so much clearer when I attended my first IACP Forum in 2008.
Have you heard of Collaborative Divorce? We sure hope so. As the leading Collaborative Divorce organization, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals seeks to educate the public and family law professionals about this unique process. And yet, we know we have a long way to go to compete with the traditional court-based divorce that has been made famous in movies like War of the Roses and Kramer versus Kramer.