TAMPA, Fla., September 5, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, the American Bar Association publicly released its newest book, "Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice" which teaches attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals how to make a living by keeping people out of the traditional, adversarial divorce process. The book, co-edited by California lawyer Forrest "Woody" Mosten, author of the Collaborative Divorce Handbook (Josey-Bass 2009) and Tampa attorney Adam B. Cordover, an emerging leader in collaborative practice, brings together experts in the field of collaborative divorce, a healthier, more private, and more peaceful divorce process.
Contributing authors include David Hoffman, a Harvard Law Professor, and Ron Ousky, former president of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. The release of the book coincides with the expansion of Cordover's firm, Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm. The firm helps clients exclusively in out-of-court dispute resolution via collaborative practice, mediation, direct negotiations, and unbundled legal services.
Disrupting the Divorce Industry
Most families do not want to go through the old way to divorce, where husband is pitted against wife and mother is pitted against father. And yet, family law professionals have been slow to adapt a more humane approach to divorce and other matters. Most professionals feel that they must engage in the costlier traditional litigation divorce model because they do not understand newer, more holistic options or how to make them viable.
On the other hand, most family law professionals recognize that the old way is destructive and unsustainable, not just for families but also for themselves. The family law field is known for high rates of "burnout," where courtroom battles take a toll and many leave the field or their profession altogether. "Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice" provides divorce attorneys, mental health professionals, financial professionals, mediators, and others the practice tools to make a living while helping families peacefully restructure and prepare for the future.
Collaborative Divorce Defined
The concept of collaborative divorce is fairly simple. Each spouse has their own attorney who agrees not to engage in contested proceedings. The attorneys and clients are teammates working together to figure out the best way to co-parent their children, divide their assets, and financially support the family. This helps the family restructure in a healthier way and reduces ongoing conflict. The team is oftentimes also comprised of one or more mental health professionals who tend to the emotional aspects of divorce, keep discussions forward-focused, and help craft a developmentally-appropriate parenting plan. A financial professional is also oftentimes involved to ensure full disclosure (think "trust, but verify"), create post-divorce budgets, and develop unique options tailored to the family's financial need.
If the spouses are unable to reach an agreement, the attorneys and other professionals must withdraw, and the spouses may hire litigation counsel. However, according to statistics from the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals, between 86-92% of collaborative cases end in a full agreement.
Praise from the Field
"Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice" is already getting high praise from leading collaborative professionals.
"A quiet revolution is reshaping modern family law practice, moving it from the courtroom to the conference room. Woody Mosten and Adam Cordover, two of its leaders have assembled the best practitioners in the field to create a practical guide that helps family lawyers understand and join the collaborative revolution. Their book shows that it is possible to develop and maintain a profitable practice and provide the kind of representation that we went to law school for. It is a gift to the profession and the families and children we serve."
Andrew Schepard, Official Reporter for the Uniform Collaborative Law Act and Professor, Hofstra University School of Law.
"I personally believe Woody Mosten and Adam Cordover have done the Collaborative Practice Community a tremendous service by bringing together this group of respected Collaborative Practitioners to share their experience and expertise. They gathered these voices to speak to the Collaborative Practice and peacemaking world, in an attempt to answer the call of the Community for more Collaborative cases and for a way to stop going to court forever. For those who want to devote their life and practice to changing how families resolve their disputes and to help them move forward in peace, this is the book for you."
Christopher M. Farish, President of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
"Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice" may be purchased at http://shop.americanbar.org.
SOURCE American Bar Association
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