Collaborative Family Law, the New Lawyer, and Deep Resolution of Divorce-Related Conflicts

Unlike many of the contributions to this Symposium issue, mine is a speculative, idiosyncratic opinion piece. I want to explore what we know, what we think we know, what we do not know, and what we need to know about Collaborative Law and interdisciplinary team Collaborative Divorce Practice as they presently exist in the field of family law, in two respects: what these processes offer to clients (the "deep resolution" part of my title) and what effect the practice of these processes has on lawyers (the "new lawyer" part of my title). Instead of citing to authority, this essay draws mainly upon perceptions and concerns arising from fifteen years of practicing Collaborative Law, as well as a decade of training lawyers and mental health and financial professionals in Collaborative Law and interdisciplinary team Collaborative Divorce Practice. I will also draw upon my decade of building, leading, and supporting the international umbrella organization for the Collaborative movement, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP).

I believe it is worth giving serious consideration to these ideas while we await empirical research that reliably tests their validity. I ask readers, in other words, to play what has been called "the believing game."