Proposed Collaborative Law Procedural Rule Published in Florida Bar News

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In March of 2016, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law the Collaborative Law Process Act (“CLPA”).  The CLPA, among other things, protects communications within the collaborative process so that participants can be more open in their discussions and can rest assured that proposals and comments made while trying to reach agreement cannot later be used against them.

However, the CLPA does not go into effect until after the Florida Supreme Court adopts Rules of Professional Conduct and Rules of Procedure.

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Proposed rules have been approved by the Florida Board of Governors, and they have been published in the August 15, 2016 edition of the Florida Bar News for comment.  Once the comment period is over, the Florida Supreme Court will determine whether it will approve the rules.

You can find the proposed Family Law Rule of Procedure (12.475) after the jump (the Rule of Conduct is published in a separate post):

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Cordover Mentioned in New Book on Marketing Your Collaborative Practice

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Joryn Jenkins, a Tampa Bay collaborative attorney and multi-book author, has recently published her latest offering, “Open for Business: Changing the Way the World Gets Divorced.”  The book focuses on marketing for collaborative professionals.

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Joryn, a friend and colleague of Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover, acknowledges Cordover’s impact on the collaborative community along with founders and leaders of the collaborative movement:

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Video: What Is A Collaborative Child Specialist?

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Collaborative family law is a process that can be tailored to your family’s specific needs.  In all collaborative cases, issues related to divorce are discussed peacefully and respectfully in private conference rooms rather than confrontationally in public courtrooms.  Each spouse has their own attorney – who focuses exclusively on helping his or her client reach an out-of-court agreement – on whom the spouse can rely to provide advice and guide them throughout.

Oftentimes, experts are brought into the collaborative process so that the clients can reach a comprehensive agreement that deals not only with legal issues, but also emotional and financial resolutions.  Experts end up making the process much more efficient by being able to handle issues far more quickly than attorneys are able to.

One option that families may want to consider is whether to bring in a child specialist.  The short video after the jump, produced by Cypress Collaborative Divorce, discusses the role of the child specialist.

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Cordover Presents on Collaborative Divorce for the Middle Class

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On August 24, 2016, Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover spoke in Jacksonville, Florida, on the topic of “Collaborative Divorce for the Middle Class.”  The workshop was organized by the Collaborative Family Law Group of Northeast Florida.

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Collaborative divorce is a process that is available to help families privately and respectfully reach agreements no matter their income level or size of their estate.  Though it has been thought of as alternative dispute resolution for the rich (and it certainly is an effective method for handling complicated cases), more middle class families are learning that it is accessible for them, as well.

If both spouses can hire attorneys, then the question becomes not whether they can afford collaborative practice, but whether they can afford any billable hours being spent on anything other than trying to reach an out-of-court agreement.

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Four Questions to Ask a Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

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More and more people are deciding that they want to avoid the traditional adversarial divorce court system and instead handle their family law matter privately and respectfully via the collaborative process.  In collaborative divorce, each spouse receives independent legal advice from his or her own attorney, and the attorneys are retained solely for the purpose of reaching an out-of-court agreement.  Oftentimes, experts will be brought in to help with parenting or financial issues.

Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

As collaborative divorce is becoming more popular and since Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the Collaborative Law Process Act in March 2016, more attorneys who are steeped in the old system of divorce court are now advertising that they offer collaborative services.  The issue is that the skillset needed to successfully help clients reach dignified agreements in collaborative practice is very different than the skillset needed to be an aggressive trial lawyer.

Below are four questions you should ask any attorney you are interviewing to possibly represent you in the collaborative divorce process.

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Client Review: Keeping It Real In Divorce

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I recently was reviewed by a former client on the Facebook Page for Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm.  The client discusses the need to determine whether the style of an attorney you may use in your divorce is focused on encouraging fighting and earning the billable hour or encouraging collaboration and focusing on your family.

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FLORIDA BAR NOTICE:  Each case is different, and you may not retain the same or similar results.

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Vegas, Baby! IACP Forum Early Bird Pricing Ends 8/17

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For any collaborative professional looking to expense a trip to Vegas, look no further than the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (“IACP”) Networking and Educational Forum, taking place October 27-30, 2016, in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada.  And early bird pricing ends August 17, 2016, so you should sign up right away!

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The theme is “Welcome to the Future,” and 600 collaborative professionals from 27 countries are expected to attend.  There will be 8 in-demand Pre-Forum Institutes led by premier educators in the Collaborative community (including Pauline Tesler and Ron Ousky) as well as 30 intensive and intriguing workshops including 10 three-hour courses.

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Need Help Filling Out Florida Family Law Forms?

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There are many people facing divorce and other family law issues who have decided that, to the extent possible, they want to represent themselves (in legal parlance, this is known as acting “pro se“).  In recognition of this, the Florida Supreme Court has approved family law forms to streamline the process of representing oneself.

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However, even the most savvy among us, if they have not had legal training, can find the task of facing and filling out 100+ pages in forms to be daunting.  So what do you do if you want to proceed pro se and not have to pay for a full-time attorney, but still need some help and advice filling out the Florida Supreme Court-approved Family Law Forms?

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Tampa Rabbi Appears in John Cena “We Are America” Video

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For this past Independence Day holiday, WWE wrestler John Cena released a public service announcement video celebrating the diversity of the U.S.  In the video, Cena can be seen walking around the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City as he proclaims that we all are America.

While the video is shooting, Cena passes by people of all races, nationalities, creeds, and orientations.  At the 1:07 mark, Cena walks by Rabbi Mendy Dubrowski of Chabad Chai South Tampa.

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You can find the video after the jump:

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Video: Tampa Real Estate Agent Discusses Collaborative Divorce

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Tampa real estate agent Rande Friedman was recently interviewed on the topic of collaborative divorce.  Rande, of White Glove House, has lived in the Tampa Bay area for the past 30 years, and he has been in the real estate industry for around ten years.

Rande is also a member of Next Generation Divorce, one of the nation’s largest interdisciplinary collaborative practice groups with professionals helping families in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota, and Manatee Counties.  Rande became involved in Next Generation Divorce after he helped a family who used the collaborative process in their divorce.  Rande found them in a better state of mind to agree upon their real estate needs and move on with their lives compared to clients who had litigated their divorce.

You can find a video and partial transcript of Rande Friedman discussing his experience with families transitioning via collaborative divorce after the jump:

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