Jennifer Gunnin: Working With A Peacemaking Collaborative Attorney

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My paralegal, Jennifer Gunnin, has now been with my firm for over 3 years.  She was with me when I was still accepting litigation work, and so she saw the toll that lengthy, nasty court battles had on divorcing spouses and their children.

And she has seen the transition of my practice.  In July of last year (2015), on the fifth anniversary of my shingle being hung, we changed the name of the business from The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., to Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm.  Further, we pledged that we would not take on any new litigation cases, and that we would focus exclusively on helping clients resolve their family law matters outside of court via collaborative practice, mediation, and unbundled legal services (we also offer adoption and name change legal services).

Jennifer-2774-Edit

Since we shifted our focus to private dispute resolution, Jennifer attended a two-day basic collaborative training (one that is usually reserved for attorneys, financial professionals, and mental health professionals) so that she could better understand the process and help our clients who are utilizing the collaborative process.

One day, my office received a call from Forrest (Woody) Mosten, an internationally acclaimed mediator and collaborative attorney from California, about an American Bar Association book that he and I are co-authoring on Building A Collaborative Law Practice.  Jennifer picked up the phone, and they talked about the new focus of our firm, her training, and what it was like to work in a newly courtless practice.  Woody suggested that she write an article on Working With A Peacemaking Collaborative Attorney.

And so she did.

You can find her article published at The World of Collaborative Practice Magazine, part of which is published below the jump.

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Will Florida Grant a Transgender Name Change?

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The Associated Press is reporting that a transgender man’s request to change his legal name has been rejected by a Georgia Superior Court Judge.  The man, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, wants to change his legal name from Rebeccah Elizabeth Feldhaus to Rowan Elijah Feldhaus.

In rejecting the request, Judge J. David Roper wrote, “The question presented is whether a female has the statutory right to changer her name to a traditionally and obviously male name.  The Court concludes that she does not have such right.”

So would a transgender person’s petition for a change of legal name to reflect their gender identity be granted in Tampa Bay, Greater Sarasota, or elsewhere in Florida?

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Video: The Collaborative Way to Divorce with Stu Webb & Ron Ousky

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Stu Webb is the founder of collaborative law, also referred to as collaborative divorce.  And sometimes, it is refreshing to listen to his view of the process:  “Collaborative law is different in that it is a method in a divorce situation to get an agreement…by working with two lawyers all in the context of not going to court…There is a commitment on the part of the lawyers that they will not go to court.”  Stu made these statements in a video entitled “The Collaborative Way to Divorce,” which demonstrates what a collaborative divorce can look like, with commentary.

Joining Stu is Ron Ousky, a former president of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.  “What I ask clients [who are going through collaborative divorce] to think about is, ‘What is going to matter to you 20 years from now when you look back?  What are the things that you are going to care about,'” asks Ron.  “And usually they will say things like, ‘I want my children to be healthy.  I want to be able to get through this emotionally.  I want to get through this financially.’  Sometimes they’ll say, ‘I want to make sure my spouse gets through it right.  I want to make sure sure we end this with some dignity.’  Often when you get clients to focus on goals, you’ll find that they have shared goals, common goals.  They probably have more in common than they differ on.”

 

You can find the video after the jump.

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Collaborative Divorce and Small Businesses

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Divorce is one of life’s most difficult tests.  The stress that the traditional adversarial litigation divorce can have on employees cost business owners countless dollars every year.  Further, a private business is seen by Florida law as a potential marital asset, to be divided in divorce just like 401(k)’s, jewelry, or furniture.  When a business is put in the spotlight of a traditional courtroom divorce, Florida’s sunshine laws dictate that the remains of the business can be picked apart in detail by competitors sifting through a public court file.

Small Business & Collaborative Divorce Graphic

Collaborative family law (also known as collaborative divorce), by contrast, is non-adversarial.  The spouses’ attorneys are not seen as “opposing counsel,” but rather as teammates.  The clients themselves are not seen as “opposing parties,” but rather as co-parents or simply people looking to transition to the next stage of their lives.

Collaborative attorneys can only help the spouses reach an out-of-court settlement, so no time, money, or energy is spent on opposition research, dirty litigation tactics, or preparing for a costly trial.  This greatly reduces the stress on spouses and mitigates productivity losses.

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Veterans, Divorce, and Honor

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As we memorialize those who died while serving in the armed forces, we also thank the living men and women who protected our freedom.

According to Florida’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs, there are more than 1.5 million veterans living in the state.  And, unfortunately, just like the rest of the population, many of those who served in the military face a dissolution of their marriage.  Yet, many veterans do not know that there is a way they can go through divorce which is private, respectful, and, yes, even honorable.

Hugging the kids

Any veteran going through divorce should learn about the collaborative process.

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Video: Child Wants Divorcing Parents to be Friends

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When most people go through divorce, they are consumed by their emotions.  No matter how you look at it, divorce is a trauma.  However, people oftentimes forget how the divorce is affecting children.  And they forget that children are keenly aware of how parents treat one another during divorce.

A video that has been going around the internet lately shows a little girl talking to her mom about how she wants her divorcing parents to be friends and treat each other well.  You can find the video after the jump.

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Full Service Pro Se Mediation For Less Than $3,500

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If you are going through divorce, you should retain an attorney.  Only an attorney can provide you with legal advice that serves your interests.

However, many people, for whatever reason, choose not to hire a lawyer.  And yet, they need help reaching an agreement and filling out all the appropriate paperwork.  For those people, Family Diplomacy offers Pro Se Mediation, also known as mediation without lawyers.

In Pro Se Mediation, Adam B. Cordover will serve as a neutral mediator to help you and your spouse reach an agreement.  As Adam is not acting as a lawyer, he cannot provide legal advice to either spouse.  Pro Se Mediation is a private and cost-effective method to resolve issues related to divorce, and it can be done for a total cost of less than $3,500.

Here is how:

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Collabortive Professionals Honor Florida Legislators

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Two hundred members of the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (“FACP”) gathered in Tampa to honor Florida legislators and others for their leadership in passing the Collaborative Law Process Act (“CLPA”).  The CLPA, among other things, protects the privacy of families going through divorce.  It creates a statutory privilege (like the attorney-client privilege) that, except under limited circumstances, ensures that what is said during a collaborative divorce process cannot be used against a spouse in court.

In 2016, Senator Tom Lee introduced the CLPA bill in the Florida Senate.  Representative Cyndi Stevenson, with the support of Representative Dana Young, introduced a version in Florida’s House of Representatives.  All three were given awards by Florida’s statewide collaborative organization for helping to protect Florida’s families via the CLPA.

 

 

Pictured, from left to right, are Senator Tom Lee, Cole Jeffries, Robert Merlin, Judge Laurel Lee, Representative Dana Young, and Representative Cyndi Stevenson.

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Unique Forms of Collaborative Law in Tampa Bay

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Collaborative practice is not just for divorce.  It is most commonly associated with divorce, but it can be used as a non-adversarial, private form of dispute resolution in many different scenarios.  Further, there are many cases where a divorce does not begin collaboratively, and yet ends up in the collaborative process.

Below are links to posts written by Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover on unique forms of collaborative practice in Tampa Bay:

A Complicated Divorce Goes Collaborative

https://familydiplomacy.com/blog/family-law-news/client-review-a-complicated-divorce-goes-collaborative/

Do You Need a Divorce Second Opinion?

https://familydiplomacy.com/blog/collaborative-divorce/do-you-need-a-divorce-second-opinion/

Collaborative Law in Medical Malpractice

https://familydiplomacy.com/blog/collaborative-divorce/video-collaborative-law-in-medical-malpractice/

Polyamorous Divorce in Tampa Bay

https://familydiplomacy.com/blog/lgbt-family-law-matters/polyamorous-divorce-in-tampa-bay/

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Cordover Provides Continuing Education at Tampa Accounting Firm

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Florida’s Department of Business & Professional Regulation Division of Certified Public Accounting requires CPAs to complete a certain amount of continuing education units to remain licensed.

On May 3, 2016, Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover, alongside collaborative professionals Sonya Johnson and Monica Epstein, provided continuing education units for the accountants of Cohen & Grieb, P.A.  Cordover, Johnson, and Epstein gave a workshop on “Collaborative Family Law: The Smart Alternative to Courtroom Divorce.”

The workshop, held during National Small Business Week, focused on the effects that divorce can have on small businesses, and how collaborative family law can help ameliorate those effects.

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