Spring 2020 | Volume 32 | Issue 3

We are excited to announce IACP’s first-ever online Introductory Interdisciplinary Training series.

Our first session, featuring members of IACP’s Faculty, will be held from August 26 – September 10, and a second training will take place in September.

This is a great option for interested professionals who have been unable to attend in-person training in the past. Registration will open very soon, and spaces are limited. Keep an eye on your inbox and our website for updates.

Please also visit the community calendar to find other online introductory trainings.

Currently, there are three trainings on the calendar including, one in July and two in August (Here & Here). 

Multidisciplinary teamwork is at the core of Collaborative practice. When professionals can build relationships characterized by trust and respect and take the time to learn and internalize the requisite skills, deep, durable and transformational outcomes are possible.

In this 4-part training we will apply lessons from psychodynamic theory, mindfulness and conflict resolution to describe a comprehensive model for enlightened team practice.

Sessions will be on consecutive Thursdays from 9:00-11:15 AM PDT, commencing July 9, 2020.

Interested IACP members should submit an application as soon as possible.

Admission is limited to 25 participants.

We are proud to announce that Soberlink is now the official sponsor of our monthly webinar series. 

This sponsorship means that IACP members will be granted free access to our monthly webinars through December 2020. 

Soberlink supports accountability for sobriety through a comprehensive alcohol monitoring system. Soberlink documents sobriety with the highest level of reliability and accuracy to foster trust and peace of mind. Learn more HERE.

IACP is pleased to invite our global community to submit your proposals for IACP's monthly webinar series.

We are committed to providing the Collaborative Community with opportunities to enhance their Collaborative skill sets, as well as networking and professional development focused offerings.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed by the Online Education Committee in July and December 2020.

Shawn Skillin was elected Vice President of Collaborative Practice San Diego. 

Shawn has worked in family law for the past 24 years.  

Wendy Musielak was recently installed as the DuPage County Bar Association's (DCBA) President. Installation happed at the annual meeting on June 19, 2020.

Robert Fried and Meghan Freed were quoted in a recent article about Collaborative Practice updates in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Be sure to check out the new blog post written by IACP Board Member, Zanita Zacks-Gabriel.

Like commerce, Collaborative Practice often reaches across state lines and it has increasingly become governed by a patchwork of statutes, court rules, ethical opinions, and widely varying Participation Agreements. Concluding that making the Collaborative model more accessible to consumers is in the public interest, and that uniformity would bring clarity and predictability to Collaborative Practice, the Uniform Law Commission created a Drafting Committee for a Uniform Collaborative Law Act which began its work in 2007.

Click HERE to read the blog post.

Be sure to check out the new blog post written by IACP Member, Cristi Trusler. 

My prediction is that some of these changes that COVID-19 has forced on us may result in lasting changes to how we “do” divorces. For example, I’d really like to see the elimination of the in-person requirement for “prove up” hearings (a requirement in many jurisdictions where parties have to provide jurisdictional testimony to judges) on agreed divorces continue if and when things get back to normal. It just makes sense to preserve the Court’s resources for those cases truly requiring a hearing or testimony, not to mention travel time and paying counsel for a court appearance that is not really needed.

Click HERE to read the blog post.

Join us in welcoming our newest whole group, Cascadia Collaborative Divorce from Seattle, Washington.

Learn more about Cascadia and its members by clicking the link above. 

Wondering if your group should become a whole group? 

Click HERE to learn about whole group benefits. 

During this unprecedented time of Shelter in Place Orders, it is that much harder to bring Collaborative Practitioners together to learn and share. We have found that having large Zoom meetings is not very successful at sharing information. We also know that some people have more time on their hands and are craving intellectual interaction.

It seems that having 4 to 6 open boxes on Zoom works fairly well in having a conversation. Break your group into small groups and ask that they take 45 minutes to an hour to check in with each other and talk Collaborative. 

Anything from how their virtual Collaborative Cases are working to ways they can make good use of their time when this is over. We know that many who will want to terminate their marriage will not want any more battles because that is what they are doing stuck together. The perfect way to resolve that is the use of Collaborative Practice.

Mix the groups up so that everyone is seeing everyone else in the group regularly. Make it a happy hour or a lunch meeting.

The important part is to keep your members engaged with each other.

And remember.....This too shall Pass!

Stay safe out there.

Contributed by Past IACP President, Ross Evans, from Ohio, USA.

Do you have questions about practice group management or tips for other groups?  Write to our Practice Group Development Committee at lgephart@nhpa.com.