In May 2026, it was a privilege to attend the global virtual event, Inside the Mind of Pauline Tesler, a deeply reflective and human conversation with one of the founding voices of the Collaborative Practice movement. That it was hosted by the Instituto Brasileiro de Práticas Colaborativas and the Integrative Law Institute was another significant reminder of how far Collaborative Practice has extended across jurisdictions and communities.

Hearing Pauline Tesler reflect on her own journey into law, the early days of the “Green Group” a circle of the early pioneers of Collaborative Practice, her role as the first President of the IACP, and her “aha” moment around Stu Webb’s disqualification clause, was a powerful reminder of why this movement took root: to keep lawyers fully present in the process of resolution, rather than pulled back into litigation.

What stayed with me most is how simply Pauline expressed what the core skills of Collaborative Practice truly are. The challenge is not technical, it is relational. It is about getting ourselves out of the way so we can truly function as a team addressing human conflict, not just a legal dispute.

When lawyers learn to share the sandbox, a phrase I know is close to her heart, when mental health professionals are given space to fully contribute, and when financial neutrals engage early so we are aligned from the outset, we become something greater than individual roles. We become the container that holds a complex, often dysfunctional system.

And in that space, the real learning happens, through reflection, and through the honest harvesting of what worked and what did not.

This session was a meaningful reminder of the values and foundations that continue to guide our work in Collaborative Practice and conflict resolution. I look forward to meeting these remarkable pioneers and guiding voices at Forum 2026 in Vancouver.