Radically Rethinking Collaboration

Did you miss Pre-Forum Institute: Radically Rethinking Collaboration with Nancy Cameron and Victoria Smith at Forum?  Or were you one of the lucky ones who took it, and you want more? This popular PFI sold out twice at the 2020 Forum, and demand was so high that these amazing trainers have agreed to produce a longer, more intensive version for us.

At a time when peacemaking has garnered much of the discourse within the Collaborative community, why doesn’t it feel like that when we’re doing the work? Is an expectation of peace and harmony realistic? Even counterproductive? This workshop will turn our initial understanding of collaboration on its head and do a deep dive into the reality of conflict. Borrowing from Adam Kahane’s ground-breaking work we will explore why, in so many of our cases with little trust and goodwill, we need to abandon the expectation of a harmonious team, shared interests, and values. Instead we need to embrace and expect difference, employ both power and love, experiment our way forward, and focus on what we can do rather than why they need to change. We will learn the strategic use of downloading, debating, dialoguing, and presencing and applying this new way to collaborate in a challenging case study.

Required reading to be done prior to the commencement of the course: Adam Kahane, Power and Love and Collaborating with the Enemy

The times listed below are in PDT. Check your time zone by clicking HERE. 

• June 3, 2021 at 10:00am - 1:00 pm PDT
• June 4, 2021 at 10:00 am - 1:00 pm PDT
• June 10, 2021 at 10:00 am - 11:30 am PDT

(Two 3-hour sessions and one 90-minute session for a total of 7.5 hours.)

Nancy Cameron, Lawyer 

Nancy Cameron is a lawyer, writer, and educator. Prior to law school, she spent ten years working in the field of early childhood education, including teaching child development and psychology. She is a family law practitioner, whose practice is in the areas of collaborative law and mediation. She is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, where she co-teaches a course on Collaborative Practice. Ms. Cameron was one of the founders of the Collaborative Divorce Association of Vancouver. She was one of the first co-chairs of the group. She is currently a board member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. She has designed training in the collaborative process, and regularly leads trainings in the interdisciplinary model of collaborative practice with Dr. Susan Gamache and Doreen Gardner Brown. The interdisciplinary training won an international continuing legal education award (ACLEA) for best program. She has written a book on interdisciplinary collaborative practice, titled: Collaborative Practice: Deepening the Dialogue.

Victoria Smith, Lawyer, Mediator 

Victoria has practiced family law in the Toronto area for over 30 years. Since 2000, she has confined her services to helping clients reach out-of-court settlements by way of Collaborative Practice and Mediation. Victoria provides trainings in Collaborative Practice, settlement advocacy and negotiation skills internationally. She present workshops throughout North America and internationally in the collaborative process, settlement advocacy, interest-based negotiation, communication skills, managing strong emotion/challenging clients and effective team process to critical acclaim. Victoria is a former member of the Board of Collaborative Practice Toronto and a former member of the Board of Directors of the I.A.C.P. Victoria is co-author of Collaborative Family Law, Another Way To Resolve Family Disputes.