The traditional divorce model pits husband versus wife, mother versus father. Collaborative Law is a refreshing team-oriented alternative. Each client retains a separate attorney whose job is to counsel the client and help resolve disputes. The attorneys work together to help both clients meet their needs. Open communication is advanced by a trained facilitator, while support and property options are developed by a neutral financial professional. The clients, attorneys, and other team members agree beforehand that the matter will not be brought into the court system until a full agreement is reached.
The Collaborative Process allows for flexible, creative solutions to a family law matter. The team explores options that look beyond a legal framework by incorporating the skills and expertise of the facilitator and financial professional. Clients are encouraged to focus on the best interests of their family, rather than rigid negotiation positions, to reach their goals. In the unlikely event that a settlement is not reached, the Collaborative attorneys withdraw and litigation lawyers may be retained. The knowledge that the Collaborative attorneys cannot bring the case in front of a judge further permits the parties to speak openly about potential settlement options (and frees attorneys from conducting exhaustive, costly opposition research).
Tampa Bay collaborative attorney and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator Adam B. Cordover discusses collaborative divorce in the following short video:
“Most families do not want to be enemies, they do not want to be warring against one another. And so I have been inspired by these families, and I have found that most want a private option,” says Cordover in the video.
Ever since our new website, FamilyDiplomacy.com, launched in August of 2015, the readership on our Blog has steadily increased. Though it is not an exact comparison, in the first 6 months of 2016, we had 2,750 individual visitors and 5,900 views, which is over a 55% increase in individual visitors and 70% increase in views over the last five months of 2015.
At the end of last year, we create a blog listing the top 10 viewed posts so far. Now, you can find the top 20 viewed blog posts of FamilyDiplomacy.com over the first six months below (click the title to go to the blog post):
Senate Bill 972, the “Collaborative Law Process Act,” is making its way through the Florida Senate and will hopefully become law this summer. The Collaborative Law Process Act creates a legal framework for families to resolve disputes outside of court. The bill specifies that…
On March 24, 2016, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed HB 967, the “Collaborative Law Process Act,” making Florida the 14th state to have Collaborative Divorce codified in its laws…
Divorce is a trauma. It is tough not only for the spouses who are separating, but also for their children, their friends, their relatives, and their community. If you can avoid divorce, whether by seeking help from a therapist or clergy, you should attempt to do so. However, sometimes a marriage is truly irretrievably broken…
According to a recent report in the Tampa edition of Creative Loafing, in light of the recent Supreme Court decision and issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Florida’s Office of Vital Statistics is making the state’s marriage certificates gender neutral…
Over the past few years, there has been a movement to overhaul the alimony and child custody laws of Florida and other states. This is because husbands and fathers have felt like they are under siege in the family law court system. They have a glimmer of hope that, if only the laws were changed..
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
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
Polyamorous Divorce in Tampa Bay
https://familydiplomacy.com/blog/lgbt-family-law-matters/polyamorous-divorce-in-tampa-bay/
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.
The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals promulgates Minimum Standards to hold oneself out as a collaborative professional. Those standards include a requirement that each collaborative professional attend a 2-day introductory collaborative training where they learn the process, skills, theories, and ethics of collaborative practice.
On April 29-30, Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover conducted an introductory training, alongside internationally renowned collaborative trainer and Licensed Mental Health Counselor Anne R. Lucas of Kirkland, Washington, and highly experienced collaborative financial neutral and Certified Public Accountant/Accredited in Business Valuation Kristin DiMeo of Tampa, Florida.
Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm strives to serve its clients with compassion and respect. Especially when clients are facing the most difficult times, we are there to serve as a reliable and constructive resource.
A client on Avvo.com recently reviewed her collaborative divorce experience. You can find the review after the jump.
Please note that each case is different, and you may not receive the same or similar results.
An adoption client recently left a review of Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm on Avvo.com.
As required by the Florida Bar, we note that each case is different, and you may not receive the same or similar results.
The review is reproduced below:
On April 13, 2016, collaborative attorney Adam B. Cordover was a guest speaker at a meeting of the Clearwater Bar Association Family Law Section. Cordover presented alongside Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Collaborative Facilitator Linda Peterman and Merrill Lynch Certified Financial Planner and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst Jim Spicer on “Collaborative Family Law – Offering A Cutting Edge Alternative to Courtroom Divorce.”
Collaborative divorce is a private form of alternative dispute resolution where the spouses and their attorneys work together to respectfully reach an agreement that is acceptable to both. Rather than focus on the arguments of the past, collaborative attorneys coach their clients to focus on the future and on what is most important to them, such as the health and well-being of their children.
Whether we are handling a divorce, paternity, name change, or adoption matter, we treat our clients with care and respect to help them meet their goals.
I was recently reviewed on Avvo.com by a client in a stepparent adoption matter who discussed her experience.
As I am required to note by the Florida Bar, please understand that every case is different, and you may not receive the same or similar results. You can find the review after the jump:
The April 2016 edition of Florida Trend Magazine featured Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover in an article on Collaborative Divorce. The article, titled “Avoiding a Fracas with Collaborative Divorce” (subscription required), described benefits and drawbacks of collaborative practice for executives and business owners.
You can find excerpts from the article below:
Last July, five years after launching his practice, divorce attorney Adam Cordover decided he was finished going to court. “I’d spent most of my career fighting in court for clients and had seen the devastating effects. I’d seen clients literally go crazy,” says Cordover. “I decided I no longer wanted to be part of it.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Trend#/media/File:Florida_Trend_June_2012_Cover.jpg
He converted his firm to a litigation-free practice focused on what’s known as collaborative law. In a collaborative divorce, a couple agrees to settle their differences outside the courtroom through negotiations.
